WHEN Rob McPherson first started feeling stomach pains, diarrhoea and nausea, he thought it was just a food intolerance.
Being quite , the 39-year-old from Manchester didn’t expect anything more serious.
“I was just a normal guy playing football every week, going to work as usual and then I started feeling a little bit ill around October time,”;; the digital media worker said.
At first, Rob thought he might be .
“I quite like my beer and my pizza,”;; he said, but over time his symptoms just got worse.
“The stomach cramps turned into bloating as well,”;; he explained.
“I was eating stuff and wouldn’t be enjoying the food as much.”;;
Within weeks, the pain was severe enough that Rob was off work for a week, struggling to and feeling constantly bloated.
His boyfriend Sam urged him to call .
“I thought they would tell me to take some paracetamol or something,”;; Rob recalled.
“But they sent out an ambulance for me.
“When they said that I thought, ‘Oh, okay. Something’s seriously wrong here.’”;;
At hospital, scans revealed a 7cm tumour near his stomach that needed urgent – which happened within 12 hours.
Doctors told him he’d need a biopsy and a , and three days before Christmas he was diagnosed with .
“I was scared and nervous, but it had to be done,”;; Rob said.
‘I thought I could tough it out’
Following the surgery, he spent weeks learning how to live with the stoma before undergoing five weeks of and to shrink the tumour.
The tumour was removed in July 2018, followed by further chemotherapy to ensure any remaining cancer cells were destroyed.
His stoma was reversed in February 2019, leaving a scar – a reminder of what he went through.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with over 44,000 new cases diagnosed annually.
What is especially worrying is that bowel cancer rates among young people like Rob who are under 50 — increasing by about 7 per cent each year.
“I probably left it a bit longer than I should have,”;; he addmitted. “I maybe thought I could tough it out or I could just deal with it”;;.
Research from NHS England shows , but Rob stressed that getting checked early makes a huge difference.
Rob said: “I think quite a lot of people are worried about causing a fuss and giving the GPs more work.
“But that’s what the GPs are there for and the NHS is there for — they’re there to help to put people’s minds at rest.
“When you’re ill, a lot of things go through your mind.
“You think the worst things, you think the best things and until you actually go and get tested and find out, you’re wasting a lot of time and there’s a lot of worry.”;;
Rob also highlighted the importance of support from family and friends.
“I’d also tell others to talk to family members and friends, because they can maybe see symptoms more and they can talk you into going to the doctors.”;;
He credited his husband Sam for being there throughout his treatment and recovery, and his nurse Debbie for keeping him motivated and positive.
“Debbie was matter-of-fact but caring as well, which is what I needed because any time I was feeling a bit down, she was getting me out of that funk and encouraging me to focus on the positive stuff,”;; Rob said.
‘Cancer can affect anyone’
Now and back to playing football and working, Rob wants others to understand the warning signs.
“I was a bit blasé about the symptoms and now that I know what the symptoms are, I keep an eye out for them a lot more and I’m a lot more aware of them,”;; he said.
The NHS ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign advises that if you’ve had tummy trouble such as discomfort or for three weeks or more, or seen — even once — it could be a sign of cancer and you should contact your GP.
Early diagnosis improves treatment outcomes and saves lives.
“Remember, you know your body best, so pay attention to any warning signs and get checked as soon as possible if you’re concerned,”;; Rob said.
“My story shows that cancer can affect anyone, no matter how active you are, and you should never put off getting checked if you feel that something isn’t right.”;;
