Harsh moment Kellie's cancer reality hit her family

At just 25 and a new mother to a beautiful baby girl, Kellie Finlayson's life was turned upside down when doctors told her she had stage four bowel cancer.

It was 2021 and the terminal illness could have been picked up sooner, if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't delayed Kellie getting a crucial colonoscopy the year prior.

All of Australia went into lockdown and with the exciting news she was pregnant, which caused all kinds of body changes anyhow, a follow-up colonoscopy was placed on hold.

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It wasn't until Kellie's partner, Port Adelaide footballer, Jeremy Finlayson, suggested she go for a follow-up, that she was dealt the devastating news from doctors.

The colonoscopy camera was being blocked by a tumour, growing on her bowels for at least four years prior.

"Initially, it was a shock to the system, there was a whole lot of denial," Kellie told Today.

The now 29-year-old and her partner had a spring wedding planned for October 2023, but at the end of 2022, the couple found out Kellie's cancer had spread to her lungs.

After already undergoing a brutal regime of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Kellie's medical team had lost hope and all they could recommend was she go home, get comfortable and wait for the inevitable.

She had to explain to Jeremy what palliative care was and she told Today, that's when the reality of the situation really sunk in.

"That was probably the first time he saw his life without me, or more so his life without Sophia having a mum and it wasn't an easy conversation," Kellie said.

"He actually didn't know what palliative care meant, so having to explain that as the person who was facing it, it was a tough conversation to have."

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But Kellie wasn't ready to just give up, so she sought a second opinion from another oncologist and is undergoing a more aggressive form of chemotherapy to give her as much time as she can with her husband and daughter.

Today, Kellie's book - There Must Be More is available and delves deeper into her journey and what advice she can offer to others in her situation.

"It's definitely changing your mindset and taking away from the victim mentality and the 'what can I do with this? What purpose is this going to give me?'" she said.

"It's how you respond to the diagnosis, not the diagnosis itself."

Hear Today's full chat with Kellie in the video above