Healthy, Active Mom Shares the Subtle Warning Signs She Ignored Before Her Bowel Cancer Diagnosis

A Life That Took an Unexpected Turn

At 39, Krystal Maeyke appeared to be the picture of health. She exercised regularly, ate well, and lived an active life as a devoted mother. To anyone who met her, she looked vibrant and strong. But beneath that healthy exterior, something silent and deadly was growing — and by the time she realized it, it was already too late.

In May 2023, Krystal’s life changed in an instant. What she had assumed were harmless stomach pains turned out to be stage four bowel cancer — a diagnosis that would ultimately claim her life.

Before she passed, Krystal shared her story publicly in the hope of warning others. She wanted people to pay attention to their bodies, to take persistent pain seriously, and to seek help early.

The Pain She Brushed Aside

For months before her diagnosis, Krystal had been experiencing sharp, stabbing pains in her abdomen. She assumed it was a food intolerance or perhaps something she had eaten that didn’t sit right.

“I thought it wasn’t anything serious,” she said. “That’s why it became advanced cancer and spread all through my abdomen, liver, and ovaries — starting from my bowel.”

At first, the pain came and went. But soon, it became unbearable.

She described the sensation as “stabbing pains that brought me to my knees.” Eventually, the pain became so intense that she had to be airlifted by ambulance to Alice Springs Hospital in Australia.

Even high doses of pain relief barely touched the agony. “Morphine did nothing,” she recalled. “Only fentanyl was able to dull it.”

When doctors finally ran scans, the results were devastating — the cancer had spread everywhere.

The Symptoms That Were Easy to Miss

Looking back, Krystal realized that her body had been warning her for months. The signs were there, but they seemed small, easy to overlook — especially for someone trying to balance work, motherhood, and daily life.

She listed several symptoms that, in hindsight, were early signs of bowel cancer:

• Persistent abdominal pain and cramping
• Unexplained fatigue, which she attributed to being a “busy mom”
• Irregular bowel movements that she thought were due to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Night sweats, which she blamed on the warm Australian weather
• Occasional bloating and discomfort after meals

None of these felt like a medical emergency at the time. But together, they painted a dangerous picture.

As Krystal later shared, “Never in a million years did I think that I would have something this cruel in my body. Cancer hurts — literally.”