Bowel cancer survivor George Fletcher takes on the Half Ironman Triathlon to fundraise for cancer research.
Imagine completing a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and a 21.1km run in just six hours. For some of us, just hearing about the gruelling details of a Half Ironman Triathlon would make us break a sweat. For George Fletcher, it is all part of his life-long passion for supporting early career Aussie cancer research, especially as a bowel cancer survivor whose dad also passed away from throat cancer.
Four years ago, George’s world was shattered when he was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer at just 48-years-old. Despite being a non-smoker with no family history of the disease, whose friends considered the healthiest person they knew, George had become one of 15,494 Australians who are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year.
As the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer on this continent, bowel cancer is also the second deadliest cancer, claiming 101 lives every week. Often it is asymptomatic, but if detected early, bowel cancer is one of the most treatable types of cancer, with a survival rate of 70% for at least five years.
Bowel cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer in Australia.
“The only symptom I had was a bit of blood on toilet paper, but several GP visits said that it was hemorrhoids. It was only when I insisted on a colonoscopy that they detected the tumour,” says George.
By then, the cancer had metastasised to his liver and George feared he would die.
“It felt completely unfair, but I drew strength from wherever I could to build my physical, but especially my mental health, to face the facts and fight as hard as I could.
“After both of my big operations to remove a part of my colon and liver, I couldn’t even sit up, let alone walk.
“The real moment of inspiration came when a young physio was helping me to walk my first steps and I felt like I was 120-years-old. At that moment, I promised myself and the young physio that I would regain my strength to the point of doing an Ironman!”
The Ironman 70.3 comprises a vigorous 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and a 21.1km run.
Now three years cancer free, George undertook over three months of intense training for his first Half Ironman Triathlon fundraiser. Needless to say, it was worth it and thanks to his phenomenal efforts, George has raised over $4,000 to fund vital cancer research.
“The training and inspiration of beating and fundraising for cancer really enabled me to finish strongly! You can see in the photo as I’m running to the finish line with my Cure Cancer singlet and cap how strong and proud I was of the achievement.”
As a bowel cancer survivor, George tells his story as much as he can so that others will get life-saving screenings, but especially to encourage fellow Australians to support cancer patients and research on diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
“My recovery was due to the skilled surgeries, but especially the chemotherapy and overall physical and mental support that I received. All of this can only come from years of painstaking research. If it wasn’t for cancer research, I would not be alive today!
“I do feel a bit of survivor guilt as there are many other good people who fight even harder, but ultimately succumb.
“This is why we need to keep researching and finding more treatments so that we truly can make ours the last generation to be affected by cancer.”
If you’d like to hear more from George, you can read his heartfelt advice on how to cope with cancer here.
To learn more about bowel cancer and its symptoms, head to the Cancer Australia website. If you are between 50-74 years of age and even if you have no symptoms, we urge you to take part in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. If you are outside of this age range and suspect you may have bowel cancer, please speak to your GP.
Want to Get Involved?
As one of our superstar fundraisers, George has helped raise almost $4,000 to fund critically-needed cancer research through his incredible six-hour Half Ironman Triathlon fundraiser. Like George, you, too, could make a difference.
If you happen to be a fitness enthusiast or just want to join a worthy cause and fundraise for Cure Cancer, we’d love to have you! You can fundraise for us by participating in iconic runs like Run Melbourne, City2Surf, Bridge to Brisbane, or if fitness isn’t your thing, but you’d still like to fundraise for us, head to our A-Z list for fundraising ideas to get started.
