Greg felt stomach pains after going for dinner with his wife Ally but thought it was just indigestion. Now he’s found out he’s terminally ill

A man hit by sudden stomach pains while on holidays with his partner has been told that he has terminal stage four bowel cancer. 

Greg Hollinshed, 45, was in Adelaide with his partner Ally Storr last month when he started feeling what he originally thought was indigestion.

Mr Hollinshed booked his appointment when they returned home to Whyalla and after a flurry of tests, his doctor recommended an ultrasound. 

After being told an appointment wouldn’t available for two weeks, Ms Storr tried to convince her partner to go to the hospital. 

He finally agreed three days later,  where a CT showed that his bowel had perforated and was given antibiotics to fight off sepsis.

That night a surgeon confirmed that the perforation had been caused by a tumour and that doctors had also discovered cancerous spots on his liver.

A follow-up CT showed that there was also cancerous spots on Mr Hollinshed’s lungs and he was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.

Ms Storr’s mother Marion, has since launched a GoFundMe to ease the financial burden as it’s ‘unlikely that Greg will be able to return to work’.

Mr Hollinshed was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer  after returning home to Whyalla 

Mr Hollinshed will need chemotherapy every two weeks for the rest of his life starting August 7.

Ms Storr said that she was still coming to terms with the harrowing situation. 

‘It was still so raw and there was a lot of information and big medical words being thrown at us and it was so hard to think of anything other than [I’m] about to lose my person,’ she told the Advertiser.

‘Our hearts just sank, we both just cried. You hear stage four and know it’s bad [you] just can’t help but think the worst, but with the help of the chemo hopefully he’ll still be around for a long time.’

Each chemo session take four hours to complete and will be followed by two days of therapy administered at home.

Mr Hollinshed underwent a marathon surgery to remove part of his large bowel on July 5. 

The surgery was only supposed to take three hours but after six had passed Ms Storr called the hospital only to be told her partner was still in the operating room.

‘Another half an hour later I called again, in tears, I had been waiting there alone, the whole time. It was the longest, sh*ttest day of my life,’ she said.

Doctors explained after the surgery that the operation had been far more complicated than expected because Mr Hollinshed’s tumor had also attached itself to part of his small bowel which needed to be removed and then reconnected.

Mr Hollinshed has lost 12kg since being hospitalised. 

Mr Hollinshed will begin chemotherapy on August 7 and will need to undergo treatment every two weeks for the rest of his life 

Ms Storr’s mother, Marion launched a GoFundMe to help the family cope after  Mr Hollinshed was ‘forced into retirement’ 

Mr Hollinshed will return for scans every three months to see if he’s responding to the chemo treatment.

Prior to his diagnosis, he had worked in the mines for 17 years.

Ms Storr said the thought of her partner  being ‘forced into retirement’ was ‘scary as hell financially’.

Her partner is remaining optimistic despite his circumstances and added that he is enjoying spending time with his children, granddaughter and family.