In late October, Fairlight’s Chris Clarke was up in Byron for a holiday. The 36 year old father of three splashing about in the pool, hanging with the family, enjoying a break from his landscaping business, living the dream.
“Part way through the trip, my wife Jade and I both got a gastro bug,” says Chris. “She came good by late arvo, but I just couldn’t stop spewing and the pain in my stomach, it was like nothing I’d ever felt in my life.” Being a proud Aussie bloke, Clarkey battled through the night. “6am the next day, I just had nothing left. I said Jade, you have to take me to hospital.”
At Byron Central Hospital, despite being a relatively young man, the team ordered a stomach scan for Chris, “Let’s just be sure to eliminate everything…” Next thing he was transported straight to Tweed Heads. “At midnight, the Tweed Valley Hospital’s Bowel Colorectal surgery team told me it was a tumour, that I had stage 4 bowel cancer, and they wanted to operate in the morning.”
Blink, your life can change in a heartbeat. “Jade and I decided our best bet was to not proceed with surgery so far from home. At 1am we packed the car and drove straight back to Sydney, direct to North Shore Private. I had surgery the next day.”
Monday 3 November, surgeons removed Chris’ tumour, as well as all the affected lymph cells, a big window of his stomach lining and section of his bowel. In hospital for ten days, Chris came out 20 kilograms lighter.
Before this drastic turn of events, Chris had no symptoms or any idea he was in trouble. “I asked the surgeon; how long do you think this tumour’s been active?” Based on his experience, he assumed it had likely been only months, not years. “Considering this is Stage 4 cancer, if we hadn’t found this in late October, if I’d never caught that stomach bug and just carried on as normal for a few more months, who knows?”
Chris’ story is sadly not a one off. Over 1,800 people under the age of 50 are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year (11.7% of all bowel cancer cases), with Australia seeing a 65% increase in early-onset cases since 2005. It is now a leading cause of cancer death for younger men, often diagnosed at advanced stages due to overlooked symptoms.
Chris’ mission now is twofold: Beat the cancer! He’s currently two months into six months of chemotherapy; And raise the awareness, especially for younger people.
“Something’s changed. Younger people need to get on top of this. Bowel cancer rates are 2 to 3 times higher among Australians born in the 1990s than those born in the 1950s. And over the past three decades there has been a 266% increase in bowel cancer incidence rates in 25-44 year olds.”
How exactly to raise awareness and funds for charity? Well, undergoing chemotherapy hasn’t numbed Chris’ get up and go approach. “15 March, I’m running the Orange marathon! I’ve run it before, it’s flat, I’ll be fine. Plus, my intensive care paramedic mate has promised to come with me and make sure I don’t die.” Talk about bowel movement.
Head here to support Clarkey’s Orange marathon run for bowel cancer.
Visit bowelcanceraustralia.org for all important information about this escalating health issue for younger Australians.