For Corey Shadbolt, 2019 was a year of dizzying firsts.
The 29-year-old carpenter finished his apprenticeship, married the love of his life, Lauren, 31, with the couple moving into their first home together – before welcoming their first child, a boy they named Mason, in January this year.
Then just five months later in mid-June, the new dad from Geelong, Victoria, started to feel unusually tired and developed an increasingly bloated stomach with sharp pains shooting down the lower right side.
Then, inexplicably, he lost 9kg in the space of three weeks.
Corey didn’t know it then, but the painful swelling was caused by 12 litres of fluid steadily leaking from his stomach lining – caused by the rapid spread of stage four bowel cancer.
In a year of extraordinary loss and hardship, Corey and Caitlin Shadbolt (pictured) have still endured a tougher time than most
Corey plays with his son Mason, born in January 2020
After three inconclusive visits to his GP in early July, wife Lauren couldn’t shake a ‘gut feeling’ that something more sinister was wrong and insisted Corey see a specialist for further testing.
The newlyweds told Daily Mail Australia they are ‘so grateful’ she did because two weeks later, Corey was given the devastating news that a large tumour was obstructing the lower part of his bowel.
‘When you hear the word ‘cancer’, it sends a chill down your spine,’ Corey said.
‘You don’t expect it. You never expect it’ll be you.’
Corey is one of 8,340 Australian men who have been diagnosed with bowel cancer this year to date, according to figures from the Australian Health Department.
Bowel cancer was the second most common cause of cancer death in Australia in 2018, and it is expected that it will remain the second most common in 2020.
Corey and Caitlin Shadbolt’s seven-month-old son Mason, who has been ‘their only shining light’ in an incredibly difficult year
Corey (pictured with Caitlin at their wedding in 2019) said he felt ‘chills run down his spine’ when doctors diagnosed him with stage four bowel cancer
The early symptoms most bowel cancer sufferers feel are easily confused with everyday complaints, which often causes people to dismiss warning signs leading to lengthy delays in diagnosis.
Tiredness, bloating and unexplained weight loss – all of which Corey experienced – can have relatively innocent explanations, but persistent stomach pain or bleeding from the rectum should be reported to a doctor as soon as possible.
The chance of successful treatment and long-term survival improves dramatically the sooner cancer is diagnosed, which means early intervention can make the difference between life and death.
After the immense happiness Corey and Caitlin enjoyed in 2019, 2020 has wrought a series of crushing blows on their newlywed bliss.
‘The only shining light has been Mason, our son,’ said Caitlin.
Mason (left and right, with Corey) has no idea of the battle his father is fighting
In the past month, Corey has had 22.4 litres of fluid drained from his stomach which has been weakened by the insidious cancer cells spreading through his organs.
Last week, he started his first round of chemotherapy which doctors say will continue indefinitely until the tumours have shrunk.
A full prognosis has not been given, but by stage four cancer has spread to distant sites like the liver, lungs and or abdomen, and may have grown through the walls of the colon into the lymph nodes, which makes treatment complex.
Corey’s oncologist has warned the cancer looks to be incurable.
With Geelong at the epicentre of Victoria’s second COVID wave, Caitlin cannot hold his hand during treatment under the terms of the virus-stricken state’s stage four shutdown which ban visitors from hospitals and clinics.
She is fearful about the side effects of chemo, which severely weakens the immune system putting patients like Corey among those most vulnerable to secondary illnesses like the deadly respiratory disease.
Corey encourages young men to cast off their stereotypically dismissive attitude to health and take more notice of changes in the body
Due to the gruelling toll of treatment, Corey has been forced to down tools and is no longer working. Lauren is still on maternity leave, caring for baby Mason.
A crowdfunding campaign launched by Corey’s sister Lauren to ease financial pressure has raised $37,710 at the time of writing.
All she can do is make life as easy as possible for her husband in the hope he will beat this disease and go on to raise their infant son together, just as they planned.
‘We’re just trying to control what we can, so we’re focusing on the little things like making sure he’s getting lots of healthy food and having hand sanitisers and masks all around the house,’ Caitlin said.
Corey encourages young men to cast off their stereotypically dismissive attitude to health and take more notice of changes in the body.
‘I’m a typical stubborn male and I’ve never worried too much about my health, but if you feel something’s not right just go and get it checked, be persistent,’ he said.
For more information on bowel cancer in Australia, please visit CancerCouncil.org.