Bowel cancer claims around 42,900 new victims each year in the UK alone. Kyron Hutchinson, from Leeds, was one of these thousands diagnosed with cancer in March 2020 aged just 31. His story highlights the importance of listening to any unusual changes in your body and seeking medical help.
While bowel cancer doesn’t always trigger all the possible symptoms from the warning sign list, Kyron experienced a whole host of red flags before getting his diagnosis.
The first sign that rang alarm bells for the man was blood in his stool.
The symptom, medically known as haematochezia, is considered one of the most frequent signs of bowel cancer, according to research, published in the journal Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
The next symptom that was trying to alert Kyron to something being wrong also struck on the loo.
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The man told Bowel Cancer UK: “I started to get a change in my bowel movement around July 2019.
“I needed to go to the toilet more often than normal and every time I stood up it felt like I needed to go.
“I thought this was due to my lack of eating and a poor diet.”
The NHS explains that pooing more often, with looser, runnier poos is one of the tell-tale signs of the deadly condition.
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“I went to the hospital but they wanted me to have a colonoscopy. I had a colonoscopy in 2016 and it was the worst pain of my life, so I didn’t want to have another one and left the hospital.”
In March 2020, Kyron’s symptoms became so bad that he was rushed into an emergency colonoscopy.
He was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer which left him in “shock”. He said: “I dropped to the floor; I couldn’t feel my body. I cried so much.
“I just kept asking myself why me, I’m only 31.”
Bowel Cancer UK explains that you’re “never too young” to have bowel cancer, with around 2,500 younger people being diagnosed with the daunting condition in the UK every year.
Kyron had to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy together to shrink the tumour before his surgery.
Fortunately, the operation managed to remove all the cancer from his bowel, including 35 lymph nodes.
Kyron finished his chemotherapy in January 2021 and completely changed his lifestyle habits as well as diet.
He added: “To be honest, this cancer has changed my life for the better as before I lived an unhappy, unhealthy life.
“I’m a positive person now and I feel blessed that I’m still here.”
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