Tara S in support of her dad

Today marks 8 years since Dad’s surgery — the surgery that saved his life, and one I’ll forever be grateful I pushed for.

Just months earlier, we had lost my beautiful Nan to bowel cancer. As a family, we stayed by her side until the very end, making sure she was comfortable and cared for. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but I’d do it all again for her in a heartbeat.

After losing Nan, I wanted Dad to have a colonoscopy. I booked the appointment, but initially the surgeon didn’t think it was necessary. Dad had no symptoms, his last colonoscopy had been less than 4 years earlier, and Nan developing bowel cancer in her 80s wasn’t considered significant family history. I remember crying in that appointment, still deep in grief and terrified of losing another person I loved. Thankfully, the surgeon agreed to do it for ‘peace of mind.’

I’ll never forget the day of Dad’s colonoscopy when the surgeon came out, patted my back and said, ‘Good call, we found a mass in your dad’s bowel.’

Because of where it was, Dad had no symptoms — and often with this type, symptoms don’t appear until it’s too late. He was sent for a staging scan and referred to QEH for a right hemicolectomy.

It was a long surgery, but thankfully he recovered incredibly well, no lymph node involvement and the pathology came back as a Tubulovillous adenoma, which turns into bowel cancer.

The surgeons were adamant it was cancer as it looked nasty, in their words ‘it would’ve turned into C any day’.

By day three he was up walking around telling the surgeons he wanted to go home because there was a horse he wanted to put a bet on.

Dad still tells people I saved his life. But really, this post isn’t about attention or sympathy — it’s about advocating for yourself and the people you love. If something doesn’t feel right, speak up. Trust your instincts. Sometimes “peace of mind” can end up meaning everything.

Dad has given me permission to share his story and photos. We all continue to have regular colonoscopies.

Pic 1# Dad the night before his surgery, he had to cut most of his beard and moustache off.

Pic 2# Dad just out of surgery

My one piece of advice:

Make sure you continue to advocate for yourself and your family members. Dads situation could’ve been a whole lot worse if I had have just went with what the surgeon said and not with my gut instinct.