"It’s a wee girl and we’re all really looking forward to her so much," Mrs Egerton said.
While their future is full of hope and joy, it was not long ago it held a very different picture - after Mrs Egerton was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 46 years old.
She had felt unwell for some time: fatigue, night sweats, joint pain, bleeding, intestinal issues and unbearable back pain that refused to let her sleep or even feed herself.
"I’d had back pain for maybe five years ... and no-one could get to the bottom of it. It got to the point where I could hardly even just walk - it was so overwhelming."
Several doctors, clinics and specialist appointments, alongside a misdiagnosis of lupus, all failed to reveal the truth.
Mrs Egerton said many of her symptoms were similar to perimenopause, menopause or lupus and her blood tests were clear.
"But the [bleeding] kept on making me suspicious, but I didn’t want to go back to the doctor too many times asking the same thing."
Her regular exercise routine succumbed to constant fatigue and she gained weight - further disguising the illness.
But for six months, she was convinced she would be facing a cancer diagnosis, she said.
Finally, in September 2022, a colonoscopy referral was made and then scheduled for five days before Christmas.
"They found it straight away ... I could see it on the monitor and I knew because they said ‘we’ll take a biopsy of this’."
Mrs Egerton had stage-3B cancer - which required major bowel surgery and chemotherapy.
She took the news in her stride and was confident.
"It’s all going to be fine."
But her husband was reeling from the shock.
"Tears were flying out of his eyes ... I was thinking, ‘Oh no, I hope he’s OK’. I wanted him to sit down. I wanted to sort of take care of him."
The doctor was concerned at her stoic demeanour, she said.
"But really, I just kind of trusted in the process ... they’ll get me through and it was all going to be OK."
Staff advised them not to delay telling their son, 28, and daughter, 26, but she wanted the news to be low impact.
"I was thinking, ‘Well, it’s not that big of a deal. They’re going to just cut it out and I’ll be back to normal in a couple of months’."
From the time of her diagnosis, she had only praise for all the Southland Hospital oncology and support staff who walked the intense treatment journey with her for the next seven months.
"I got insanely sick and felt sorry for myself and wanted to cry. But when I look back, the support was there. Everyone was just so kind and supportive."
Along with a constant stream of visitors and meals from a support network of friends, life "just kind of carried on".
"Maybe because I felt and treated it like it’s just a passing thing," she said.
Mrs Egerton urged people not to wait if they believed something was wrong.
"Just be an advocate for yourself if you think something is wrong.
"Don’t just believe what you’re told; get a second opinion and push for a colonoscopy."
Bowel Cancer New Zealand chief executive Peter Huskinson said New Zealand bowel cancer remained the country’s second-deadliest cancer, despite the fact 90% of cases could be treated successfully if caught early.
"Sadly, 1200 lives are lost to bowel cancer in New Zealand every year including 350 under the age of 50.
"And new research is telling us that early-onset bowel cancer is on the rise."
The simple $30 test was a cost-effective solution that saved lives and prevented an $80,000 cancer, he said.
"The human cost of delay is tragic and the economic case for early detection couldn’t be clearer.
"It is indefensible for more Kiwis to continue losing their lives to this preventable, treatable disease."
• June is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. To find out more, go to bowelcancernz.org.nz
- By Toni McDonald
