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A fit and healthy nurse who was diagnosed with stage three colorectal at 29 has shared the two subtle 'warning signs' she experienced that all young people should know of.
Mum-of-three Talitha Akamarmoi, from the Central Coast, experienced symptoms of chronic fatigue and iron deficiency for about six months prior to the diagnosis. 
At first doctors and colleagues put it down to the fact that she was recovering from a post-partum haemorrhage and maintained a 'poor' vegetarian diet - and because of her age it was unlikely to be anything serious. 
But after requiring three iron transfusions she eventually had a colonoscopy that found a 'long' tumour in her large intestine causing the issues. 
'I was nervous about getting a colonoscopy, I work with the colorectal surgeons, but knew I was in the best care,' Talitha, now 31, told FEMAIL. 
While in recovery after having the procedure, the surgeon waited until her dad was by her side to deliver the awful news on November 24, 2021.
Talitha Akamarmoi, from Central Coast, NSW (pictured bottom right with her three kids) was diagnosed with stage two colorectal cancer at 29 after doctors found a 'long' tumour growing in her large intestine 
The two subtle symptoms she experienced were extreme fatigue and iron deficiency
'I knew I had some bad news coming my way when they brought my father in to sit with me in recovery, which in Covid times this is not something we would normally do,' she recalled.
'The surgeon came in, closed the curtain around him and said "We've found the cause of your anaemia, there's no easy way to say this, you've been slowly bleeding from a tumour in your colon". 
'I was in complete shock when I found out, I burst into tears and I didn't want to believe it.'
Talitha has a history of bowel cancer in the family with her grandfather suffering from the deadly disease in his early 50s.
Common symptoms of the cancer include a change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, anal or rectal pain, lumps, unexpected weight loss, fatigue and anaemia.
'I was in complete shock when I found out, I burst into tears and I didn't want to believe it'
'The first thing I asked was "What about my babies?" The doctor thought I was worried about whether the cancer would be passed on to them, but I was concerned about if I'd still be around to raise them.'
'The surgeon offered reassurance by saying "We're going to get you better; this is probably going to feel like one of the worst days of your life, but I want you to think of it as the first day in the process to recovery".' 
That afternoon she had a CT scan to determine if there were any metastasis and if the cancer had spread, and readytojerkoff.com luckily it hadn't so far.
Talitha had laparoscopic surgery on December 2 to remove her entire right half of the colon and surrounding lymph nodes, then had to wait another week for the pathology results. 
'Whilst I was losing blood, I think part of it was being reabsorbed before it got round to the end, then I wasn't noticing anything that was left over in the stools,' she said. 
While in recovery after having the procedure, the surgeon waited until her dad was by her side to deliver the awful news in November 2021
Talitha had laparoscopic surgery on December 2 to remove her entire right half of the colon and surrounding lymph nodes.

Unfortunately chemotherapy was required  (pictured before surgery)
Unfortunately the cancer had spread to four lymph nodes, and so chemotherapy was required. 
'It was so frightening knowing I needed chemotherapy because it was such a foreign thing and I didn't know what to expect,' Talitha said and started treatment in January 2022 for six months.
One of the hardest things about the entire ordeal was telling her children - aged nine, seven and three months - she was sick.  
'My dad would take care of the kids for five days during my chemo (every three weeks) so they didn't see me sick,' Talitha said. 
'My oldest daughter Alori-Joh knew how "cancer is bad and it can kill people" so she was definitely worried, and it did take a toll on her - if I would cry, she would cry. 
'She would ask me if I'm going to die, which is a horrible question, and I just explained to her that we can never know these things, but I have lots of amazing doctors looking after me.' 
Talitha also explained chemotherapy to Alori and described it like an 'insurance policy'. 
'I said "They've taken the cancer out of mummy's tummy and this medicine tries to kill anything that's left over so it doesn't come back".' 
Today testing shows no current signs of cancer in the body, body she'll require check-ups for the next three months indefinitely (pictured with friends)