The young father of three, now uses social media to urge his followers to keep asking their doctor questions if they're showing any bowel cancer symptoms. In the past 10 weeks he has received over 6.4 million TikTok views Chris TikTok after he was diagnosed with the disease aged just 31.
The Software Developer, who is backing a Cancer Research UK drive to help save more lives from bowel cancer - the UK’s second most common cause of cancer death - said, like many people, he was reluctant to seek help when his symptoms started.
Chris said: "I was spotting a bit of blood and obviously you think it's not anything bad and you put it off because you're busy, but it went on for about 2-3 weeks and every time I went to the toilet, I was passing blood. I was worried, but I didn't do anything about it, and it was my partner Lauren who made me go to the doctors.
"The doctor told me I was fine as I wasn't losing any weight, and I had no pain. They thought perhaps I might have internal piles. I guess, I didn't meet the criteria for someone of my age and health to have bowel cancer, so I wasn't considered a risk."
Still concerned about his symptoms Chris demanded blood, inflammation, and stool tests. While waiting for his results he went on holiday where he secretly planned to propose. "I'd been planning it for a year," he added. "I bought the engagement ring and a trip to Rome as a Christmas present for Lauren, so she had no suspicions."
But the romantic getaway turned into heartache when Chris' symptoms got worse, he added: "My stools were now a deep, dark red and I was filling the toilet with blood. My FIT test -a test that checks for hidden blood in a stool sample- came back as a high positive, but doctors assured me they didn't think it was cancer but to be safe they put me on the two-week referral pathway for cancer and I was booked in for a colonoscopy."
Chris returned home from Rome and underwent a colonoscopy where a five-centimetre tumour was discovered in his colon and a biopsy later confirmed his shock cancer diagnosis, he continued. "Amidst the joy of buying our first home, welcoming our newborn, and getting engaged in Rome, I heard those words: 'You have colon cancer.' Immediately, you think who is going to look after the family? My partner is 26, she didn't ask for this, and I've just given her children and promised her a life of security and family and now I'm going to leave her."
Chris underwent surgery at Northampton General Hopsital and had a third of his bowel removed. He's now in remission and sharing his story to mark Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and also to support a groundbreaking study funded by Cancer Research UK which will use a vast patient database of over 28 million people to spot 'trends and red flags’ to help earlier detection.
Every year around 38,400 people in England are diagnosed with the disease including around 4,500 people in the East of England.*
Now a Cambridge Cancer Research UK scientist has been given over £200k as part of a £50million International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED). The global alliance focusses on formative ideas in early detection.
Dr Samantha Ip, from the University of Cambridge, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, will use cutting-edge statistical methods and AI to harness a detailed, long-term collection of routine medical records with up to 20 years of follow up information, to develop models that help support doctors in detecting bowel cancer early and lessen the burden on both patients and the NHS.
She said: "The data used routinely by GP surgeries and hospitals across the country, when linked with records from the bowel cancer screening program, and national cancer and death registries, is a treasure trove that can help clinicians make referral decisions. As these records are gathered over time, we also get a long-term view of patient health rather than just a snapshot. It would be a shame not to make the most of this readily available data. We have data that captures a broad spectrum of information including diagnoses, symptoms, prescriptions, referrals, lab test results, demographics, and even some lifestyle factors like smoking status.
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with cases on the rise. Early diagnosis is key - around 9 in 10 people diagnosed with bowel cancer in England survive their disease for five years or more when diagnosed at the earliest stage. This falls to around 1 in 10 when diagnosed at the latest stage.** Yet, almost 6 in 10 bowel cancer cases (with a known stage) are diagnosed at a late stage in England.*** Most patients see their GP with symptoms before diagnosis. However, bowel cancer symptoms can sometimes be vague, and more than one in five eventually end up diagnosed after an emergency presentation."****
Common symptoms of bowel cancer can include a change in your normal bowel habits (such as needing to go for a poo more often, looser poo or constipation); bleeding from the bottom or blood in poo; unexplained tiredness or breathlessness; losing weight without trying to and tummy pain (especially if it doesn’t go away) or a lump in the stomach.
Dr Ip added: “My goal is to develop predictive models that help support clinicians make more informed referral decisions to catch existing bowel cancer earlier, and tailor screening schedules based on each person’s risk of developing bowel cancer in the future. The data analysis will look at trends in medical records, going beyond traditional 'red flags' to see if certain patterns in test outcomes and symptoms could signal bowel cancer.
"There are many subtle signals hiding in routine medical records that, especially when viewed over time and pieced together, can point to current or future risk of bowel cancer. In the end, it’s all about catching cancer earlier so we can step in fast and save lives."
Cancer Research UK is the largest funder of bowel cancer research in the UK. Its scientists have helped identify risk factors for the disease, developed many of the drugs used to treat it and are investigating why more people, like Chris, are getting bowel cancer at a younger age. That’s why he and his wife Lauren are urging people to donate monthly to the charity and taking part in its Run 100 miles challenge this April to help fund more vital work like this.
Chris added: "I'm now in remission but if I hadn't kept pushing for answers I would not be here now. I had to advocate for myself as I didn't really feel anyone was listening because I was young and physically fit. Hopefully, Dr Ip’s research will address some of these issues in terms of red flags and indicators which should help doctors make better and quicker referrals.
"I’m living proof of the power of research, and it’s given me the greatest gift of all - more precious time with my family. Success stories like mine simply wouldn’t be possible without monthly donations to Cancer Research UK that help to fund the life-saving treatments of tomorrow. I beat cancer and now I’m giving back. I've raised over £2000. Without the research these funds support, I might not be here to watch my children grow. Research gives hope to those people like me facing cancer."
Cancer Research UK’s head of prevention and early detection, Dr David Crosby said: "Too many cancer cases in the UK are caught late, making them harder to treat and lowering the chance that people survive their illness. The cancer research work in Cambridge will make a huge difference by giving GP's vital information that could lead to early intervention and quicker treatment."
ACED brings together Cancer Research UK, The University of Cambridge, The University of Manchester, Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU, University College London, German Cancer Research Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Support the future of cancer research at cruk.org/donate