Gareth Price, Redditch

I was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer aged 38 in May 2025.

I’m married to Hannah and have three boys: Jack (13), Finn (8), and Angus (7). After intentionally losing four stone last year I was at the fittest I’ve been in my adult years, playing loads of sport: padel, golf, football and tennis.

I had been ignoring a single symptom (blood in my stool) for about four to six weeks. I did the obligatory search on Google and ignored anything with the C-bomb, as my weight was going up if anything. I felt great, had more energy than I’d ever had. I was more active than ever and put the blood down to something like irritable bowel syndrome. I didn’t speak about it, as I didn’t want to worry anyone.

For work, I sell toilet roll and household products and was in a meeting with Andrex. Our rep (Paul) spent about 20 minutes talking about Andrex’s partnership with Bowel Cancer UK and how there was a focus on talking about poo and feeling comfortable doing so. I sat in my chair and felt like I was sinking. At the same time as ignoring blood, a close friend’s wife was going through testing for cancer, so the subject was already on my mind. As soon as the meeting finished, I called the doctors instantly to start the process of getting checked.

My first step was for a stool and blood test — these came back within a couple of days and indicated that I’d need to be put on the cancer urgent pathway which in turn resulted in me going for a colonoscopy. Everything happened so fast. I had scans or tests pretty much every other day after the colonoscopy and within two weeks was sat in front of my amazing consultant, Mrs Nicoll, and my key worker, Bernice. They are both amazing and have literally saved my life.

A lump was found at my colonoscopy and although that wasn’t confirmed as cancer at the time, the doctor seemed confident it was so we treated it as if I had cancer from that point. This was a huge shock. With my age, everyone I spoke to tried to convince me it wasn’t cancer. Everyone in the patient room after seemed genuinely shocked.

I had a suspicion during the colonoscopy - as a very outgoing and loud person (and I like to think I’m funny) - I’d had everyone in the room at my colonoscopy in stitches, laughing that I sold bog roll and the meeting with Andrex was why I was here. I noticed a massive mood switch in the room; I knew it was bad news and when they asked Hannah to come in after the procedure I just “knew” before they broke the news to me. I just broke down immediately after being told they found a lump. I didn’t know how to act and rushed as fast as I could to get my shoes on with the nurses telling me to slow and calm down and process it, but I couldn’t. I just wanted to get out ASAP and for the ground to swallow me up. My life flashed before my eyes; all could think of was my kids growing up without a dad.

We reset, went to the car. Just as we were setting off, I got a call from my work mate, who was the only person from Regal that I'd told. “All good then, lad, yeah?” I broke down again, burst into tears and replied with a “no” before hanging up. We stopped on the way home for a coffee, trying to process it. I said to Hannah that this is the last time we cry about it and we only stay positive from now on. We got home, to face the hardest part — telling our nearest and dearest. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was to tell my parents.

It was then a massively hard job letting people know — every time I thought of someone I had to tell, I would well up thinking how it would impact them.

I was officially diagnosed on my first meeting with my consultant. From my colonoscopy and ultrasound, my cancer was graded between stages 1 and 2.

My consultant was brilliant in helping me understand what was happening, outlining options we had and what the percentages were likely for the cancer to be treated and cured. My first option, was the chance to just have the lump removed which after discussing with the team and Hannah, was my preferred treatment. A date was given for this within two weeks and I went under but woke up with Mrs Nicoll deciding that the lump was too big and I was definitely stage 2. This meant that just removing the lump would be massively under treating me and the percentages of it not being cured getting higher. This meant I had to have a stoma fitted and due to where my lump was on my rectum it would not be reversed. This op was scheduled two weeks after the initial and I went under for over 10 hours whilst they fitted a stoma and sewed up my bum. I woke up in the hospital and felt like I’d been hit by a train. I’d had an epidural so I couldn’t feel my legs. I was in hospital for 10 days and had three drains hanging out of me. It was really difficult. Hannah had to look after the kids solo and I now had a massive recovery ahead. I’m a couple of months into a six-month recovery now before getting back to any sport.

My surgery was a massive success, so I didn’t need any chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, as I’m still in recovery it impacts my life massively. I can’t lift anything heavier than a full kettle, so I’m pretty much useless to the family. Mentally, it’s a complete minefield. I have good days and bad days. I still haven’t really processed it as everything has happened so fast — I went from diagnosis to all clear within three months!

I have amazing people around me; Hannah held everything together. Whilst I was going through the diagnosis, she knew how to make me feel. She knows when to let me go AWOL and be with friends and have a beer when I needed to and was there when I just needed a cuddle. My friends have been unreal, cried with me, made me laugh, took me to appointments, sneaked mcflurrys into hospital, pulled me out of rabbit holes at dark times, taken the mick with new nicknames and most importantly just made me feel normal. My work has been brilliant too and have been with me the whole journey and have been a real example to how businesses should be at times like this.

The worst week of my life was waiting to see if the cancer had spread and the not knowing. I was in a state where I thought any little ache or strain was cancer and I had convinced myself that I was riddled. I couldn’t sleep for days. Finding out it hadn’t spread was the best news and I could relax a little after that.

I started following Bowel Cancer UK on Facebook immediately after my diagnosis and read pretty much all of the stories, which really helped me understand the disease but also showed me that people have survived. I knew pretty early on that it wasn’t going to kill me, which put those concerns to bed pretty early.

Currently, I’m in a recovery phase. I am cancer free which is amazing and and my biopsy shows that my cancer is not genetic, so my kids are as safe as they can be. I’ll be monitored now until I’m 50, with two blood tests a year and one colonoscopy. No sport for a few months so I’m apprehensive of adding weight on and how my brain will be as it plays catch up to major surgery. I’ve not had to have any chemo or radiotherapy which is a bonus.

My message would be to get checked out ASAP if you have any of the symptoms for bowel cancer. Check your poo, speak about it if anything doesn’t seem right — the earlier you spot anything the better chance you have. There are so many people to speak to and as men, we unfortunately do tend to ignore things, well don’t!