Jesse Crystal

My brother in law was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer early in 2024 and it rocked our world as he was only 38, he's fighting hard and doing really well. But as this is something that isn't looked at for young people it's so lucky his was caught early enough. I want to run on behalf of Adam and hope through his courage and openness more people will get tested and the process will change through the help of Bowel Cancer Australia.

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A bit about Bowel Cancer Australia:

Bowel Cancer Australia is the leading national charity dedicated to prevention, early diagnosis, research, quality treatment and care, so everyone affected by bowel cancer can live their best life.

Being a 100% community-funded charity, recognition of our consistently high standard of work and services is only possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters and a shared commitment to championing what matters most to people affected by bowel cancer.

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'You have bowel cancer' - four words you don't expect to hear when you're young.

Yet each year over 1,700 young Australians do.

It is a common misconception that bowel cancer is 'an old person's disease', but the reality is that you should never be told that you are too young to have bowel cancer. Although the majority of newly diagnosed bowel cancer cases occur in people aged 50 years and over, around 1 in 9 (11%) Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer are under the age of 50.

Never2Young is an initiative of Bowel Cancer Australia, providing resources uniquely designed for younger people. Helping younger Australians to better understand their bowel cancer risk and to take appropriate action, raise much-needed awareness and receive dedicated support that is tailored to the needs of early-onset patients.

Factors like My Genes, My Family, My Health, My Body, My Lifestyle and My Right can all play a contributing role when it comes to bowel cancer in younger people.

Being young does not make you immune to bowel cancer. No one knows your body better than you, so listen to it and if something isn't right make an appointment to speak with your doctor as soon as possible. If caught in time, almost 99 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated.

You can read more about Never2Young advocacy here: https://www.bowelcanceraustralia.org/young-onset