One week, 41-year old doting dad Matt Fletcher was a normal, healthy man running around with his two young boys kicking a soccer ball on their home on acreage north/west of Brisbane. The next week he was struggling with severe abdominal pain which soon intensified … just days later Matt was undergoing major emergency surgery at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside and was told he had stage three bowel cancer!

“It was a complete and utter shock to my wife and I, as I’d been active and healthy to that point with no real family history of bowel cancer. It just goes to show that you’re never too young to get bowel cancer,” says Matt.

Bowel cancer is the deadliest cancer for people aged 25-44 and leading colorectal surgeon Dr Jayson Moloney, says the rapidly rising rates among young people in Australia (and around the world) is “the colorectal health challenge of our time.”

Dr Moloney is a colorectal surgeon and gastrointestinal endoscopist consulting and operating at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside in Brisbane and Matt Fletcher is his patient.

Every year, over 1500 young Australians die from bowel (also called colorectal) cancer. Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. 

It’s the sixth leading cause of death for Australians in this age group and Dr Moloney says it’s time to shatter the common misconception that bowel cancer is an ‘old person’s disease’. 

“One of the big problems with the younger group is that in many cases there’s no symptoms or the symptoms can appear minor – which was the case with Matt in the first few days. So, it can sneak up on many people and that amplifies the shock for them and their family when there is a cancer diagnosis,” says Dr Moloney.

He says there’s no clear reason why the rate of bowel cancer is rising among younger Australians.

“The main risk factors that we believe can contribute to it are diet, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle,” he says. “It’s likely to be a combination of factors. There could also be environmental factors which we don’t know or understand yet. That’s the unnerving thing - we just don’t know for sure despite all of the advances in medical science.

“Another significant risk factor is family history and whether a relative has had a bowel cancer diagnosis. So, it’s important to enquire in your family and understand if there’s any history there, although the information about relatives and cancer can sometimes be hard to find and it’s not always a topic which people are completely comfortable in speaking about.”

Dr Moloney says it was fortunate that he was able to operate before Matt developed any major complications such as a bowel perforation. 

“Matt’s tumour was obstructing his bowel which meant I had to remove all of his large bowel and part of his small bowel. We were able to re-join the bowel and he avoided the need for a colostomy bag,” he says. “His case highlights the current trend of increasing rates of bowel cancer in younger patients, and the fact that bowel cancer can often have no symptoms or very subtle symptoms. 

“Symptoms such as bleeding or trouble with your bowels are not normal. There may well be a simple explanation, but it’s so critical to have a conversation with your GP about your symptoms and your risk of bowel cancer. You should feel comfortable to request a referral to a specialist for a colonoscopy if you’re worried.”

Dr Moloney says the tragedy of the rising rates of bowel cancer among younger Australians is that they have the most to lose (given their youth) and the most to gain - given that if it’s detected early, the good news is that the vast majority of bowel cancer cases can be treated successfully when detected early.

“We have a definitive way to detect the disease when it’s pre-cancerous by doing a colonoscopy. So, we should have much lower rates of bowel cancer and lower mortality rates given that it’s preventable, detectable and treatable,” he says.

As Matt embarks upon six months of chemotherapy, he has happily become a champion for spreading the message of vigilance, screening and early detection. Aiding his very personal campaign, is the fact that the Federal Government is lowering the age for the free national bowel cancer screening home test kit. 

As of July 1, it will be lowered from age 50 to 45, and people will be able to join the program by requesting their first bowel screening kit at the www.ncsr.gov.au/boweltest or by calling the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701. All eligible people aged 45 to 74 can also ask their doctor about getting a free test kit and people aged 50 to 74 will continue to receive a bowel cancer screening kit in the mail every two years.

“I feel like I can make a difference in raising awareness given what happened to me. And in fact at my work, I know of at least 10 people who have booked in for colonoscopies after hearing of my story and my family are also now super vigilant and my sister is also having a colonoscopy,” says Matt. “My other message to people is ‘Don’t ignore any symptoms and if there’s changes in the way your body feels or functions, see your GP and get it checked out – it just could save your life’.”