Farmer diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 33 urges others to get symptoms checked

A farmer who was diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 33 has urged other young people to get symptoms of the disease checked out.

James Rogers, from Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, who runs a large Christmas tree farm, was diagnosed with bowel cancer last May.

He needed urgent surgery to remove a tumour and then underwent chemotherapy.

Mr Rogers, who lives with his partner Ellie Henderson, 28, and their daughters Amelia, eight, and Lily, seven, said he noticed symptoms when he was on holiday.

“I had a little bit of blood in the faeces,” he told the Press Association.

“I was on a holiday, saw the blood, sort of panicked a little bit, and it then stopped.

“But I thought ‘I should go to the doctors about this’. I have seen blood before and always acted on it.

“The doctors did a blood test which was all fine – they were very adamant it wouldn’t be cancer.

“But I also had the fit test (faecal immunochemical test on a stool sample), which came back positive. I then learned I needed a colonoscopy.”

Mr Rogers, who is now aged 34, had seen a doctor two-and-a-half years before for similar symptoms but a fit test at that time came back negative.

“My surgeon said this time, ‘Oh yeah, that might have been a bleeding polyp before’,” Mr Rogers said.

In some cases, polyps, which are growths in the bowel, can become cancerous.

“Who knows but maybe if it had been removed at that point, then I wouldn’t have had to go through this now?” Mr Rogers said.

After his tumour was discovered last May during the colonoscopy, Mr Rogers underwent surgery.

“They did histology on the tumour,” he said.

“There were two lymph nodes right next to the tumour that were infected, and they said to reduce the risk of the cancer recurring, they would give me chemotherapy.”

Mr Rogers said he “didn’t really feel anything” when diagnosed as he was in shock.

“I just felt emotionally numb to it. I think I was in so much shock, it didn’t feel real,” he said.

“But once the reality kicked in, the anxiety sort of set in. I was told I needed a CT scan and an MRI.

“Waiting for those results was extremely scary because I didn’t know whether the cancer was in other parts of my body. If it was, the prognosis would be far worse.

“I do feel very blessed not to have it elsewhere in the body… it does put life into perspective.

“The small things mean a lot more now, it does change your outlook.

“A month ago I had my first scan after my treatment and it came back all fine, thankfully.”

Mr Rogers wants to raise awareness of bowel cancer, especially among younger people.

“A lot more young people are getting cancer now,” he said. “I just want to turn this negative situation into a positive by raising awareness about the symptoms.”

Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to James and Ellie for raising awareness of their experience of bowel cancer, and we’re delighted to hear that James is recovering well from his treatment.

“Every 12 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with bowel cancer, making it the fourth most common cancer.

“Although the disease is more common in the over-50s, there is a growing body of evidence globally that bowel cancer is increasing in younger people, including in the UK.

“As James’ story shows, bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early.

“Whatever your age, if you’re experiencing symptoms of bowel cancer like bleeding from your bottom, blood in your poo or a change in your pooing habits, please contact your GP to ask for an at-home test. It could save your life.”

Studies are ongoing to work out why more younger people are developing bowel cancer but experts believe poor diet, obesity and a lack of exercise could be playing a role in some cases.

Cancer Research UK data suggests one in 20 bowel cancers in the UK are diagnosed in people aged under 50.

Data provided by the charity up to 2019 suggests bowel cancer has seen a 52% increase in incidence rates for adults aged 25 to 49 since the early 1990s.

There are around 2,600 new bowel cancer cases in people aged 25-49 in the UK every year and around 44,100 new cases among all ages.