A MAN who thought his diet had been causing him to bloat has been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer.

Jay McLaughlin was struggling to eat foods such as cheese, gluten and gaseous foods, but put the bloating down the stress of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year brought about a lot of change for Star Wars fan Jay.

The 41-year-old fashion photographer had moved in with his barrister girlfriend, Edina Koe, 39, before the first lockdown.

As a freelancer, he was also concerned about what life would be like during the pandemic, with continuous lockdowns.

He first started to suffer with bloating in March 2020 and put it down to diet and lifestyle – with the added stress of Covid restrictions.

In order to ‘clear his system’ he started to eliminate different foods to try and soothe his symptoms

Months later, in October 2020 Jay’s symptoms progressed and he started to have painful stomach cramps.

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Luckily his GP in Tower Hamlets, east London, asked to see him for a face-to-face appointment and also said he should send off a stool sample.

Jay said: “One test – a faecal immunochemical or FIT test – saved my life.

“It looks for microscopic blood in your stool. One to 10 is the average range for a normal, functioning human, but mine was over 200.”

“So, when I saw the doctor, she referred me for a colonoscopy to examine my bowels, saying it probably wasn’t cancer, but I needed to be checked out.”

NO TIME 2 LOSE

Screening and testing helps diagnose cancer fast – giving you a better chance of survival.

Fewer than one in ten people survive bowel cancer if it's picked up at stage 4, but detected quickly – at stage 1 – more than nine in ten patients will live five years or longer.

That's why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign in April 2018 – to call on the Government to lower the screening age to 50.

In the summer of 2018, health secretary Matt Hancock announced screening in England would be lowered to 50 – marking a victory for The Sun and campaigners, including Lauren Backler, who lost her mum Fiona to the disease aged just 53.

Jay's colonoscopy took place just a week before Christmas and the couple spent their first festive season, locked down and fearing the results.

Jay added: “I was told they were 99 per cent sure I had cancer, but they needed to get the biopsy results and stuff before they could confirm it and start treatment.”

'IN THIS TOGETHER'

“A week before Edina and I had discussed the implications if I had colon cancer.

“I told her it was going to get difficult and that I understood if she wanted to leave.

“She was like, ‘No way! We’re in this together and we will get through it.'”

Despite the worry, Jay said they managed to enjoy Christmas.

Between Christmas and New Year, Jay was given a MRI scan on his kidney, soon after on January 12, he was given his cancer diagnosis.

He was diagnosed which made his cancer particularly aggressive.

LIFE SAVING

He said: “It was also unusual for me to get colon cancer at this age.

“Normally, it’s diagnosed in older people, as it starts with a polyp or something similar in the colon and can take up to about 15 to 20 years to become cancerous.

“My cancer had probably been there for about a year and was a large, stage three cancer – meaning it had spread to the lymph nodes – and was very close to my kidney.”

He added: “If I had not seen the GP when I did and taken the FIT test, I would probably be telling you now that I was going to die very soon.

“By ordering that test, the GP saved my life.”

Jay started his treatment in February with six cycles of intravenous chemotherapy and he said the side effects were awful.

He said that sometimes it felt as though he was swallowing a hedgehog but that luckily he only experienced hair thinning.

He added: “I had nausea, mouth sores, there was a funny smell and terrible pins and needles.”

Know the signs – What is Bowel Cancer and what should you be looking out for?

BOWEL cancer is the fourth most common form of the disease in the UK – after breast, prostate and lung.

Bowel cancer is where the disease starts in the large intestines.

It's also referred to as colon or colorectal cancer, because it can also affect the colon and rectum.

Most bowel cancers develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.

Not all will turn cancerous, but if your doctor finds any, they will tend to remove them to prevent cancer.

What are the symptoms?

The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include:

• Bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo
• A change in your normal toilet habits – going more frequently for example
• Pain or a lump in your tummy
• Extreme tiredness
• Losing weight

Other signs include:

• Gripping pains in the abdomen
• Feeling bloated
• Constipation and being unable to pass wind
• Being sick
• Feeling like you need to strain – like doing a number two – but after you've been to the loo

In May, he had a right hemicolectomy at Royal London Hospital – removing the right side of his colon in an eight-hour operation.

He said: “I had an amazing surgeon, who took out the right side of my colon and reattached the ends inside me, so I didn’t need a colostomy bag.

“I don’t know how I’m arranged now, which is an odd feeling.

“Before surgery, I could look at a diagram of a human being and go, ‘Yes, this is how I’m put together.'”

He added: “Now I don’t know, as I haven’t seen a diagram of how my insides look, which is a weird feeling.”

Spending eight days in hospital recovering, eight weeks after the operation, he resumed his chemotherapy.

“I’m having 12 rounds. They don’t like doing more than 12, as you can end up with nerve damage,” he said.

“I just have nine more to go now, including one today.”

IN RECOVERY

The couple are now making plans to celebrate his recovery with a trip to Disneyland Paris.

The two Star Wars fans had been scheduled to go last year for Star Wars day, but it was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Jay explained: “Travel is high on my list of things I want to do when I’ve recovered.

“We’d love to go to the Seychelles and to Madeira – although there’s a lot of walking there and chemo saps your energy, so that could be a few years off yet.”

He added: “So, I think Star Wars and Disneyland will be our first stop.

“But first, I want to thank my GP and the NHS for saving my life.

“And anyone with unusual bloating, gas and cramping, like I had, please see your doctor. If I’d ignored it for much longer, I might not be here now.”

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