A Co Londonderry man has described his survival story after being diagnosed with bowel cancer — something doctors initially said he was “too young” to have.
Dale Young was just 32 when he was diagnosed after experiencing episodes of extreme fatigue.
The father-of-two initially put it down to overtraining at the gym and too many early starts for work.
However, his exhaustion, which became “progressively worse”, and troubling bowel movements, began to raise concerns that it was something more serious.
“I was sleeping for most of the day after work and only woke up to eat or go to the bathroom,” Dale, now 37, said.
“I was in a meeting when my stomach turned. I ran to the toilet where I must have passed about half a pint of blood.
“At this point, I panicked and went straight to the out-of-hours doctor.”
Dale with his son wife Erin (37), son Leo (7), and his stepdaughter Bethany (17)
A GP brushed off his symptoms as a case of haemorrhoids as he was “too young” for it to be anything of concern.
However, Dale pursued further tests, leading doctors to make a “shock” diagnosis that he had stage three bowel cancer.
The findings were so abnormal for someone of his age that surgeons would later invite medical students to observe his surgery.
He added: “Looking back, I’m so thankful that I took the initiative to ask for more tests. The colonoscopy discovered a tumour in the lower section of the bowel, which was about 5-6cm in size.
“When they told me, it felt like I was in a bad dream. It took a long time for it to sink in because I was in complete shock.
“Telling my family was one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. I was more worried about them as we had lost our mother to the same disease just a year previously.
“I felt worse for them than I did for myself because I knew the toll it would take on them.”
Dale Young
The diagnosis came just a month before his wedding to now-wife Erin.
Dale added that, as a result, he pushed to “have the operation as soon as possible”.
After speaking with hospital staff, surgery was scheduled for two weeks before the wedding.
“Physically, it hit me very hard as I normally go to the gym three or four times a week,” Dale said.
“Not being able to exercise really affected my mental wellbeing.
“To help manage it, I spent a lot of time reading, gaming and watching TV. My family supported me greatly during this time and everyone I met in the hospital and at the cancer centre were nice and helpful.”
Dale is now four years clear of the disease and is waiting to receive his five-year scan this summer.
Despite finding it hard “not to dwell on” his difficult experience at times, he enjoys a healthy lifestyle and encourages people who suspect the worst to get it checked out.
“I now try my best to keep healthy but still enjoy life. I always try to encourage other people to get checked out if something feels wrong and to remember that you’re not invincible.
“I’m so thankful to have a future and look forward to what it brings, be it good or bad.”