John Miller, Burton Fleming
At 48 years old, in the summer of 2019, I received the news that no one wants to hear: ‘You have bowel cancer’.
After seeing blood at toilet visits I remembered a post on social media that a friend had created earlier in the year about her brother being diagnosed with this terrible disease and what symptoms to look for. I searched back for the post, read the Bowel Cancer UK information and immediately got an appointment at my doctors. After the consultation I was put on the fast track two-week window and went for a colonoscopy and biopsy.
The following few weeks were an emotional rollercoaster as my wife and I tried to come to terms with the news along with having more blood tests, MRI and CT scans.
We then were introduced to our consultant and surgeon Mr. Di Benedetto. He quickly put our minds at rest that the cancer had been caught very early and the prognosis was good as he was operating to remove and cure.
He then went through the procedure with us in a calming and easy to understand way, highlighting that he operates with a single incision (SILS) rather than open surgery or multiple incisions. This is an easier operation to recover from, with less chance of complications and issues down the line. We left the meeting feeling somewhat relieved and positive about what was to come.
The day of surgery went smoothly. One small incision across the belly button meant I was up and about, sitting, walking and eating normally the next day. The recovery time in hospital was only three nights, before I was allowed home. During the time in hospital I had the usual visits from the doctor on his morning rounds but then additional visits from Mr. Di Benedetto.
After discharge I received a call each day for the next week from Mr. Di Benedetto, checking in on me and that everything was ok and recovery was progressing smoothly.
Four weeks later, back at hospital for the post op consultation, I'm happy to say everything is good and no further treatment required, the cancer had been removed and life goes on. I'm now back to walking and cycling for the next few months until I can start running and playing squash in the spring of 2020.
2020 sees me tackle the Yorkshire Three Peaks, as a group of us will be raising money for Bowel Cancer UK taking on the challenge in 12 hours. Something that wouldn’t have happened if we had been given an appointment at a different hospital, a different consultant and not had the SILS procedure and the skilled work of Mr. Di Benedetto.
I cannot understand why more surgeons do not operate in this way. Faster recovery, less time in hospital, less chance of issues. Without the pioneering SILS operation I have no doubt that life would still be on hold and I would still be recovering rather than living life again. I cannot praise or thank Mr. Di Benedetto and his team enough.
I am sharing my story and fundraising for Bowel Cancer UK to raise awareness that early diagnosis saves lives. If you have any symptoms, go and get checked and please do not ignore them.
Update: November 2022
After getting the all-clear in 2019 I decided that I wanted to take on two challenges that I had always wanted to do to support the amazing work that bowel cancer does, so I put the call out to my friends to see who would join me. In September 2020 a team of 17 completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks and then in September 2021 eight riders completed the Coast to Coast cycle ride.
Both events were amazing to do but I found them very emotional as I watched my friends climbing the Yorkshire Three Peaks and riding the 170 miles from Morecambe to Bridlington alongside me. They had supporting me during the dark days of the cancer diagnosis and treatment and then on the two challenges. Along with monies raised also by our Walk Together groups in 2020 and 2021 we raised £12,754.06
In the summer of 2022, I had symptoms again so it was back to the doctors for a referral to my consultant. Another tumour was found, and it was time to go back under the knife to remove it. The surgery was a success and again no further treatment required. The final biopsy results (after the first one being ‘inconclusive’, the second being ‘stage one cancer’) revealed it wasn’t cancer but if left would have been in about 18 months or so. Again, I have been lucky as both times it was caught so early because I knew the signs to look for due to someone else sharing their battle with bowel cancer. And now it worries me that this will happen again and one day my luck will run out.
You need the love and support of family and friends to get through the head spinning days whilst you wait for dates for tests and scans and then the wait for the results seems like it takes forever. There are no answers to the questions you keep asking yourself, ‘why me?’ And ‘why me again?’ And ‘could I have done anything to prevent it’ and ‘when will my luck run out’. It changes the way you look at life and making sure you make every day count, how many times you look down the toilet after going for a poo and hoping everything looks ok and the emotion and sadness when you hear stories of those that weren’t as fortunate as you and that is when the survivors guilt kicks in. Moving forward my intention is to raise as much awareness as possible about Bowel Cancer UK and what signs to look for. This along with raising funds for research will help more people to be as lucky as me.
