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Bowel screeningArrow
Diagnosed with cancer
Interview 01  

Interview 01

Age at Interview: 67
Sex: Male
Background: A white British man, retired swimming coach, married with 3 children.
Brief outline:Invited for screening in 2001 when aged 62. The first Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) test suggested there might be a problem, so test repeated. He had a colonoscopy, was diagnosed with bowel cancer, had surgery and a temporary ileostomy.

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The surgeon told him he had cancer and showed him pictures of the inside of his bowel. A nurse helped him and his wife come to terms with the situation.

 



Yes I was invited, I had a letter come to tell me that I'd got to report to a local hospital for a colonoscopy which informed me also that I would require three days. One day for preparation, one day for the colonoscopy and then one day for recovery. And then I was also told that it would be about a week to go to see the local surgeon. On the morning that I was to go and see the surgeon I also received a letter saying that I was required to report to the hospital for a liver scan which at that time I, I have to say I was totally confused. I didn't know what was going on. It had suddenly escalated into this situation where I was thinking, now I don't know what's going on. I knew what would happen once I started this, it would escalate to a point where I couldn't control it. Still thinking that there was simply nothing wrong with me.

So that was before you'd seen anybody to get the results of the colonoscopy. You were asked to have a liver scan?

Yeah. The letter came on the day that I was to go for the interview with the surgeon. It came on the same morning. We were about to go to the hospital for this interview with the surgeon and it came through the door. So I, I had a quick look at it and, that was it, I thought, “Well I don't know what's going on. The whole thing is going complete, completely mad now.” And I think that perhaps it's worth noting that we were very fit because there was never a time, a weekend when we weren't out on the bike. Our holidays were centred on cycling and we were always out walking. And it seemed completely out of order, what was going on considering our lifestyle.

And then when you went to see the surgeon what did he say exactly? How did he explain what he'd found or done?

I have to say my surgeon is a true gentleman but he's not exactly a man of mirth although he delivers what he has to say pan-faced. When we went in he said that. He showed me some quite explicit pictures of what a perfectly good bowel looks like and then he showed me some pictures of a bowel with polyps in it and he said that he could cope with that perfectly alright. That was something that could be dealt with quite easily. And then showed me something that he said that he couldn't deal with and it was not a pretty sight. And that was when he said it was my bowel which I disbelieved and said that he must have the wrong pictures. Of course, he said no, I've got the right picture.

So that must have been a big shock for you?

Yes it was a shock.

And how did you manage, how did you cope with all that, that day?

Well I must have sounded like a gibbering idiot really but. Well it was difficult to cope with. I don't know how I coped with it really but I did have the benefit of the nurse that was present taking me into a small room and then giving, giving us an opportunity to come to terms with it with less impact. You know we were able to, to take it in. And she was very easy with us, allowed us time to come to terms with it before we left the hospital.
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