'Just get checked. Better to find nothing wrong, than learn too late'

By the end of that summer Connaughton was experiencing painful cramps, mostly in the morning. “But what raised my awareness was seeing blood in the stool. My wife said you need to see the doctor.”

His GP sent him for colonoscopy. “It was in the back of my mind that it could be something serious but I’m quite a positive person. I thought it was a digestive issue.”

Unfortunately, the news was not good. “I had a massive tumour wrapped around my colon. It was devastating,” says Connaughton, who then received even worse news. “I had metastasis to the liver and lungs. It was stage four.”

He began chemotherapy immediately — six rounds over three months. Initially, I was very down. I thought the worst — as you do. But then I just pulled myself up, changed my mindset. Whatever I had to do I would do. I’ve a philosophy that whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t — either way you’re right.”

Connaughton finished chemotherapy in January 2020 — “It shrank the tumour to a manageable level” — and underwent surgery in April.

“They successfully removed the tumour and part of the colon. Post-surgery I was on a stoma for seven-and-a-half months. Meanwhile, I had surgery that removed 60% of my liver. Amazingly, liver regenerates — within eight weeks my liver was back to its full size and function.”

Connaughton did not undergo lung surgery — three not so very large tumours located there had been “knocked back” by the chemo. From September 2020, he was having three-monthly monitoring scans. By Christmas 2021 the tumours in his lungs had started to grow — tumours were also returning in his liver. He underwent six sessions of chemo. By late 2023, he needed further chemo.

“As I was getting scanned, if tumours were [growing], they’d recommend chemo,” he explains.

Last summer, after tumour activity was again seen in his liver and lungs — and with his daughter’s wedding taking place in October in Abu Dhabi — Connaughton underwent radiation “to shrink the tumours sufficiently so I could go to the wedding.” 

Back in Ireland, he began further chemo in January this year and has almost completed the course. “I’m very fatigued. I get out walking as much as I can. I’m an IT engineer and I still do a bit of work. My spirits are good — if today’s a bad day, tomorrow can be a good one.

“I wish it had been discovered earlier — it would just have been the colon and that would have been dealt with, as it has been. That it went to the liver and lungs is major. If I’d gone to BowelScreen when I got the notice, would it have been different? I don’t know. Definitely, if it had been discovered earlier, I could potentially be clear now.”

Connaughton’s advice to others is: “Just get checked. Better to find nothing wrong, than learn too late.” What is important is vigilance — and to know that colorectal cancer does not discriminate on age grounds, says Kennedy. “Take action if you have symptoms. And if you’ve already done that, but symptoms aren’t going away, go back, get checked again.”

Spot the symptoms 

• Changes in bowel habits — diarrhoea, runny bowel movements, constipation, needing to poo more or less often than usual.
• Blood in your poo, which may look red or black.
• Abdominal issues — cramps, general abdominal pain, bloating that doesn’t go away.
• Weight loss when you’re not trying to lose weight.
• Tiredness and lack of energy when you’ve had enough rest.
• Any unusual change you know isn’t right for you.
• If you experience one or more of these symptoms, you should make an appointment to see your GP.

• For information on bowel cancer screening and using home test kits, click here.