Teah Mogae
“Hip hip hooray!” I exclaimed as we walked to my consultation room together. “How does it feel to be 50 and have you received the birthday gift from the government yet?” I asked as I closed the door behind me. “Well, I did get something in the mail but I was trying to forget all about it. Surely, I would know if something was amiss and I do check my motions every time I go,” he answered.
We proceeded to discuss what had brought him in for a consultation this time. He was heading to Vietnam with the family for a vacation and was keen to investigate whether there were any travel vaccinations he should consider. Reviewing the type of travel he was planning, and all his previous childhood and travel vaccinations, we decided that he probably only needed a booster to his typhoid vaccination as the influenza vaccination for the year had not been delivered for use. He was happy with the discussion on how to reduce illness that we could not prevent through vaccination and how to be a safe and smart traveller overall.
As the consultation was drawing to a close, I revisited the discussion we had had about his screening test for bowel cancer. “I think it is disgusting and surely I would know if something was going wrong,” he said. I explained the process of collecting the samples and how to manage them post collection, as well as the privilege of having a system where he could be screened for an illness before it even showed any signs or symptoms, so he promised to do it before his trip to Vietnam which was to be in a few weeks.
On receipt of his abnormal result – I knew he was on holiday and the news could wait until his return. Organising his colonoscopy was another ‘hassle’ he didn’t want to do but followed through despite the disgusting drink and diarrhoea that followed suit. A diagnosis of stage 2 bowel cancer was not anything we had anticipated and came as utter shock.
“I am still a young man with a young family Dr Teah. How am I meant to deal with this?” he asked me in tears after the colorectal surgeon had broken the bad news and referred him for a specialist oncologist appointment. “You will deal with this all right and I will be here with you and supporting you every step of the way,” I said, thankful that he listened when I advised him to do the screening rather than shelf the test kit away for another time when it all could have been too late. Catching the disease through screening at 50 years had surely saved his life because we couldn’t imagine how far along things would have been if he’d ignored it. It was merely a matter of time…
*With the Federal Government’s free bowel cancer screening program people aged 45 to 49 can request their screening kit by submitting a webform at ncsr.gov.au/boweltest or calling 1800 627 701. People aged 50 to 74 receive a bowel cancer screening kit in the post every 2 years.
