Hi all,

I hope this post finds you all well. I’m a bit anxious about this so please be patient and read on.

In August last year I was told something no one deserves to hear. You have bowel cancer, it’s advanced and it’s aggressive. At 36 years old you can imagine my whole world was torn apart. This isn’t a post looking for sympathy but to raise awareness. I’m going to tell you my story. for months I was having stomach pains, always feeling bloated and having irregular bowel problems. I initially put this down to lifestyle as I smoked and liked to indulge in rich foods and drink and on top of that a stressful job. It gradually got worse and self diagnosed myself with stress induced ulcers or something and carried on regardless. I tried to change this with a healthier diet and more exercise. Several weeks of this the pain started to get more localised around the stomach area. I would complain to work colleagues and family and I still wouldn’t go to a doctor. ‘They will only tell what I already know, you need to change your lifestyle.’ I would say. In July I started to bleed heavily when I went to the toilet. That’s when I decided to see a doctor. After the first appointment they were convinced it was a food intolerance such as coeliac then after samples it was irritable bowel disease such as colitis or Crohn’s. With this they decided that I should have a colonoscopy. With the date set I headed in to Southampton general hospital for the procedure. I was on the table with a camera up me bum watching the whole thing on the screen. After a few minutes, bang, there it was. White and black tumours all around the wall of the large intestine. I knew instantly what I was looking at (This is so hard to write 😔). After the procedure I was taken into the doctor’s office and he told me that we were looking at cancer. After just a few days I was called back into the hospital for CT scans. Then after just a couple of days I was called back in for a meeting with consultants. Bear in mind I am still in a a lot of pain and generally feeling very ill. This is when they told me. They told me I was in a bad way. Advanced means that had spread. It had spread to lymph nodes and they were worried it had spread to major organs and said I had a very long road ahead of me. The first thing I thought was what am I going to tell my parents. Just days after the diagnosis I was meant to start treatment but I feel extremely ill and was rushed to hospital. I spent the next days curled up on a hospital bed fearing this was the end. If it wasn’t for the amazing people on the oncology ward it could’ve been. I started to come around and was released from hospital and due to start treatment straight away to try and get on top of this. I will never ever forget three things: The picture of the colonoscopy, them telling me I had cancer and how ill I was in hospital. After several treatments I am feeling almost back to normal. I am back at work and trying to live with this awful disease. I continue treatment and hope for the best. So this post is to tell you that if ANYTHING feels different to the norm, SEE A DOCTOR. If I had seen one when the problems arose I might not be in the state I am now. By no means am I on the road to recovery. They simply do not know. I Could have 2-5 years could be sooner could be later. Please see a doctor when you know something is not right. So with this news I asked my doctor if I need to tick things off my bucket list. She said yes I need to while I can. So I have chosen to walk the south west coat past in its entirety. 630miles of fabulous views. This is no simple walk. This will be the equivalent of Everest 4 times and will take 7-8 weeks of living like a hobo! With everything I need on my back. I wanted to do something good while I can so have decided to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK to help professionals cure and prevent cancer. Please give what you can to help others. 1 in 2 people will suffer from cancer at some point in their lives. Let’s get this statistic changed! Thank you for your time. All the best. Nick x

Bowel Cancer UK is the the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity.

We fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.

Bowel Cancer is the second deadliest cancer, claiming 16,500 lives each year. Lets get this number down!

We’re here to stop people dying of bowel cancer.