Jane’s story in memory of Marty

My husband Marty, was a healthy, 42 year old Dad, police officer, a black belt in martial arts.

He was a larrikin, with a dark sense of humour. A dedicated, fun and involved father.

We had just walked 800km across Spain for a holiday. With an infuriating amount of energy, he encouraged and cheered me to keep going most days.

Upon our return to Australia, Marty had been more tired than usual, lost his appetite and felt generally unwell.

A visit to the GP, to arrange some tests, found us in the emergency department with a swift Stage 4 bowel cancer diagnosis. Unfortunately, in Marty’s case, there was not much that could be done as he was too advanced. Chemotherapy bought us 16 months of time before we lost him in 2021.

At 42, he was not eligible for screening. He did not have symptoms or a family history. He was really unlucky. But he did look after himself and would have tested if that was required.

Our family continues to recover from losing him. The collateral damage of cancer on the people who loved him, has been and continues to be catastrophic.

I am hopeful that if screening tests are more accessible to the under 50’s and easy to use, plus we get out the message that you’re never too young for bowel cancer, we may prevent other families from a similar fate. There is hope to be found in changing the future of bowel cancer.

My one piece of advice – Marty’s cancer could not have been identified any earlier, and when it was, it was too late for a 42-year-old father, who lost his life 16 months after diagnosis.

The collateral damage on family remains a wound and has not yet formed a scar.

As a leading cause of death in this young age group, we must better understand why it is occurring, improve current and develop better screening methods, ensure equitable and timely access to treatment, and public health campaigns to ensure health professionals and people under 50 know this is not an issue for only the elderly.