A passionate runner has told how doctors failed to pick up the only sign of his bowel cancer, mistaking it for an exercise injury as it was not part of the "typical" symptoms.
Andy Spary, 39, from Tunbridge Wells, started feeling pain in his left cheek in March last year, describing the sensation as a "severe burning".
But doctors at the local hospital's emergency room, after examinations, told him that the pain was likely from a recent injury while roller skating.
Only later, through an MRI scan and biopsy, was a tumor discovered in the colon, which had also spread to the surrounding lymph nodes.
Doctors gave him the devastating diagnosis: colon cancer, stage three.
It is suspected that the development of the disease is linked to Andy's existing condition, Crohn's disease, which causes chronic inflammation and swelling in the digestive tract and can lead to the development of abnormal cells that promote cancer.
“The tumor has spread from my bowel to my cheek area and is spreading,” said Mr Spary, who is married to Amy, 35.
"We're focusing on the good – that it's treatable and that we can beat it."
In July of last year, he underwent a procedure to prepare his body for chemotherapy, which involved placing a stoma — an opening in the stomach, where part of the colon is connected to a bag to collect waste.
Two months later he began treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy to shrink the tumor, but doctors did not see the results they had hoped for.
On May 21 of this year, Andy underwent a second surgery, in the hope that he would remain cancer-free, with the stoma still in place.
“In an ideal world, if the treatment completely destroyed the tumor, then the stoma could be removed,” he said.
"But realistically, that's rare. The plan was always to have a stoma for life."
This surgery involved removing the remaining part of the intestine and the tumor, as well as a section of the cheek.
A plastic surgeon then performed an operation to repair the pelvic floor and reconstruct the posterior area using tissue from the surrounding area.
"A surgeon removes the tumor and a plastic surgeon makes the adjustments. New back, new man, everything is fine," he said with humor.
Another benefit of this intervention is that it is likely to cure Crohn's symptoms, as the affected part will be removed.
Doctors are confident that the surgery was successful, but he must wait at least a month to have the scan that will confirm whether he is cancer-free.
“Being fit and active has been my best weapon,” Mr. Spary said.
He now plans to run the 2026 London Marathon on behalf of cancer charity Trekstok, for which he has already raised more than £3,350 via GoFundMe.
“If I manage to raise £10,000, it would be incredible,” he added.
Andy is recovering in hospital from surgery and hopes to be out of hospital by the end of May.
He will have to learn to walk again with the help of physiotherapy before resuming training for the marathon at the end of the year.
So far, he has managed to sit up and take his first steps.
“Having a goal like running my first marathon next year – despite my stoma – motivates me to keep my spirits up and keep going,” he said.
“After all this, I will be on my feet, stronger and fitter — no more Crohn’s and no more cancer. We solved it.”
Andy's story comes at a time when there is a worrying rise in cases of bowel cancer among young people in Britain.
Between the early 1990s and 2018, the number of adults aged 25 to 49 diagnosed with this cancer increased by 22 percent — one of the highest rates in high-income countries.
Experts are still not sure what is causing this increase, but suspicions include a combination of changes in diet and exposure to environmental factors such as pollution. /Express newspaper/
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