PATIENT’S WARNING

TONI AdieKinraid is not about sugarcoating things or wasting time.

The Dunedin 37yearold is dying from bowel cancer, and wants to spend the time she has left alerting people to the signs of the disease — curable if detected early enough, but in her case diagnosed too late.

‘‘I’m just an ordinary woman with kids and a husband . . . and they’ve said I maybe have two years left, with further treatment,’’ she said.

‘‘It just proves that it can happen to anyone, which is the message I want to get out there.’’

Helping to spread the word is her elder sister Michelle Abernethy.

As well as helping her sibling with fundraising efforts to make her last years easier, Mrs Abernethy has also signed up to walk the Dunedin Marathon as a fundraiser for Bowel Cancer New Zealand.

‘‘I’m doing the walk because I think people need to know anyone can get bowel cancer, and that you are never too young,’’ she said.

‘‘At 37 you have so much ahead of you and you can have it ripped away by an awful, awful disease.’’

Joining Mrs Abernethy on her fundraising halfmarathon walk will be Mrs AdieKinraid’s best friend Kylie Kelly and Anashai Kinraid, Mrs AdieKinraid’s 17yearold daughter.

‘‘I’m not a walker at all,’’ Mrs Abernethy, who has set up an ‘‘Everyday Hero’’ page, said.

‘‘I take the bus to work and to home, I am the laziest person in the world . . . but I wanted to.’’

‘‘I am so proud of her,’’ Mrs AdieKinraid said.

‘‘She and my best friend Kylie, they have both taken themselves right out of their comfort zones to raise awareness.’’

With the benefit of hindsight, Mrs AdieKinraid knows she had bowel cancer symptoms for some time.

‘‘For four years I got you might have irritable bowel, you might have haemorrhoids, you might be intolerant to certain foods . . . but I then saw a different doctor and was told in about 10 minutes it was cancer.’’

There was no family history of the

disease, but now they all know they will need to be checked regularly.

‘‘Making people aware that it could be you, that’s my biggest thing now.’’

The Dunedin Marathon is on September 9.

PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON Walking the talk . . . Terminal bowel cancer patient Toni AdieKinraid (centre) with (from left) husband Shaun AdieKinraid, daughter Ruby AdieKinraid (5), sister Michelle Abernethy and daughter Anashai Kinraid (17). Mrs Abernethy and Anashai are walking the Dunedin Half Marathon to raise funds for Bowel Cancer New Zealand.