How a young man's stomach pain led to shocking cancer diagnosis
A young WA man who was suffering from stomach pain only found out a year later he had bowel cancer.
Lain Adam, 27, had daily cramps in his stomach which he assumed was a result of being either gluten or lactose intolerant.
It never crossed his mind that he might have cancer.
“Even though I had all the symptoms they didn’t think it was a possibility because I was so young,” he revealed.
Mr Adam lost 20kg in just months, with doctors having no idea what was wrong until he finally had a colonoscopy.
With bowel cancer traditionally associated with older patients, doctors were stunned with Mr Adam’s results.
“Even the doctor that diagnosed me said that they didn’t suspect it would be that because of my age,” he recalled.
However bowel cancer statistics are surging for young people, with it being the most common killer for people aged between 25 and 29.
Doctors believe the change in people’s diets is causing the rise in cancer patients.
“It’s not something we would have seen a decade ago but certainly there is an increase in that ,” Royal Perth Hospital Surgeon Dr Abraham Jacob said.
Dr Jacob said the “fast food culture” was to blame with processed foods the main cause.
Yet with an increase in patients comes new developments in surgery, with doctors now able to access the tumour underneath instead of through the stomach.
“We think it’s better because we know exactly where the tumour is,” Dr Jacob said.
Experts say it is less invasive and the chances of fully removing the cancer are far higher.
“There’ll be less pain, faster recovery and hopefully they’ll have better quality of life,” Special Colorectal Surgeon Dr Shanthan Ganash said.
Dr Jacob said if the cancer is detected early, doctors are able to successfully remove the cancer in 90 per cent of cases.
