Michael R, online fundraisers

“A year ago, just as my partner, Mark, & I was planning a trip to Europe & talked about becoming a family, cancer came into our world.

Mark is 37, visited his GP in early 2023 due to abdominal cramps & bloating & was told it was IBS due to stress. He asked for a colonoscopy & was told it was too risky & not to worry as he was young. A few months on he went to another GP with pain in his liver & high bilirubin. Had an ultrasound & found several tumours in his liver. He was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in July. If he had colonoscopy then, it might have been found at stage 2 or 3 & treatable.

But Mark is a fighter. He had the tumour removed in February & has completed his 18th round of chemo. He wants to push it as far as he can & give his body the best chance before having liver surgery later this year.

While this year has been the hardest, we’ve been blown away by the incredible people who work in the cancer treatment space. We’ve also been lucky to benefit from Bowel Cancer Australia’s wonderful counselling & other services. I recently raised $2700 in two online fundraisers. I wish I could raise more as I feel like bowel cancer doesn’t get near the publicity (or money) that other cancers do. Maybe this is just the beginning of my fundraising efforts. Watch this space!” ~ Michael.

Thank you for sending & sharing your story with us. We are very grateful for all that you did, despite the challenges both of you are facing.

Your awareness & fundraising efforts are greatly appreciated & will have a direct impact, helping to save lives & improve the health & wellbeing of people living with bowel cancer.

If you were inspired by Michael’s fundraising activity & would like to support Bowel Cancer Australia through a social event, check out the Get Involved page on our website.