Sophie Edwards has revealed the devastating aftermath of her bowel cancer surgery.
The single mother from Adelaide, who starred on The Bachelor in 2016, was diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma – a form of bowel cancer – on June 14, 2022, despite having no family history of the disease and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The 36-year-old manager suffered from incontinence and had to wear an adult diaper after her surgical procedure.
That recently led to an accident when she played in the Super Netball Grand Final in August.
When she tried to use a disabled toilet at the scene, a woman questioned Sophie and accused her of faking her condition.
“She wondered what was wrong with me, and it made me feel so terrible,” Sophie says Adelaide now.
“She made me feel so small, like I wasn’t human,” she added.
“So I just left. I got in an Uber and sobbed in my own filth on the way home.”
Sophie Edwards (pictured) has revealed the devastating aftermath of her bowel cancer surgery
After that painful experience, the former reality star underwent surgery to insert a sacral nerve stimulator, which helped her manage her symptoms.
“I will never be 100 percent like I was before cancer, but this has given me a little bit of normalcy,” she said.
Sophie thought she had a stomach flu, but after a visit to her doctor in 2022 she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer.
She told FEMAIL that 12 weeks before she went to the doctor, she noticed a change in her bowel habits, and initially doctors were dismissive of her symptoms.
Since then, the young mother has been on an emotional roller coaster and says that this time last year she was a ‘completely different person’.
On June 14, 2022, she was diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma, a form of colon cancer, despite having no family history of the disease and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The 36-year-old manager suffered from incontinence and had to wear an adult diaper after her surgical procedure
“I had to go to the toilet more and more often, to the point where I was having accidents – which was very embarrassing – and then having severe, intense pain,” she said.
‘I was extremely ill; It was the reason for me to go to the doctor, because I couldn’t eat or drink anything either.’
Due to the pain, her mother took her to the nearest local GP, who unfortunately dismissed her symptoms.
“The doctor said I should take stomach tablets, but my mother argued for a test,” Sophie said, taking a stool sample.
Surprisingly, blood tests have shown nothing sinister.
When she was able to contact her regular doctor who reviewed the tests, ‘microscopic’ amounts of blood were found in the stool.
Sophie then had an appointment with a gastroentomologist for a CT scan which ‘detected something’, but the specialists at the time were unable to identify what it was.
The single mother from Adelaide starred in The Bachelor in 2016 (pictured)
That recently led to an accident when she played in the Super Netball Grand Final in August. When she tried to use a disabled toilet at the scene, a woman questioned Sophie and accused her of faking her condition
‘It all happened so quickly; From the first visit to the doctor to the diagnosis, it took 10 days,” she said.
On June 14, 2022, the 7 cm tumor was found during a colonoscopy and confirmed to be cancer.
‘When you hear the word ‘cancer’ you automatically think you are going to die. You have no idea what path will appear before you,” she said.
“I felt completely numb and overwhelmed, and I immediately thought of my seven-year-old son Jaxon.
‘My mother was completely shocked and wished she had to experience this and not me.’
It was also an ‘torturous’ wait to confirm whether the disease had spread elsewhere – which it had not.
“She wondered what was wrong with me and it made me feel so terrible,” Sophie tells Adelaide Now. “She made me feel so small, like I wasn’t human,” she added. “So I just left. I got in an Uber and sat on the way home in my own filth, just sobbing.”
She immediately threw herself into the radiation treatments, which were ‘intense’.
“You don’t feel the effects until you’re done, and I also took chemotherapy tablets in the morning and evening,” Sophie said.
After 25 rounds of radiotherapy, she felt as if ‘acid had been dripped into her stomach’ and she was in ‘so much pain’.
“The after-effects were horrible and horrific, but it had to be done,” she said.
During a three-week break from treatment, Sophie was hospitalized for five days after experiencing “severe, excruciating pain” in her body coping with the stress of treatment.
Sophie did not need surgery for this form of cancer.
She said she is also extremely grateful for the great doctors we have in Australia, estimating that Medicare has covered about $40,000 in medical costs.
“I paid about $8,000 out of pocket and would not have been able to pay the entire medical bill if it was not covered by Medicare,” she said.