Cancer didn’t
Young,fitagymownerrockedby shockboweldiseasediagnosis
He was a super-fit personal trainer, a doting dad to a two-year-old daughter, and he and his wife had just realised their dream of opening their own gym in their home town. So, it seemed unfathomable for Chris Ferri, at the age of 32, to be told he had bowel cancer.
It was in July 2017 – the month after he had taken part in a Tough Mudder event at which there had been an E. coli outbreak – that Chris began to develop severe stomach cramps and bloating.
“I had put off going to the doctor’s as I thought it would go away,” he explained.
“But, after a few weeks of trying to ‘man-up’, I knew that something had to be done.”
With tests having ruled out E. coli, Chris called on his knowledge of nutrition to dissect his diet, systematically excluding dairy, lactose and gluten.
But nothing seemed to quell the stomach spasms and swelling, and the frequent dashes to the toilet.
His doctor arranged for an endoscopy, a procedure during which the consultant found and removed polyps – an unusually high number for someone of Chris’s age and level of health and fitness.
Remaining polyps were removed during a subsequent procedure at University Hospital Wishaw.
But it was during that procedure that surgeon Martin Downey discovered another behind Chris’s bowel.
“He said he’d like to refer me to a doctor in Glasgow who would remove this due to where it was, but he would also take a biopsy. I didn’t overthink any of this at the time,” said Chris.
A few weeks later, he was re-called to the Wishaw hospital for an appointment with Mr Downey.
“When my surgeon entered the room looking pale and white, assisted by a nurse, I knew that something wasn’t right,” said Chris, who failed to take in the words that preceded and followed the statement: “You have cancer.”
Armed with alarming biopsy results, the consultant told him surgery had to be carried out urgently, and introduced Chris to cancer nurse, Eleanor Rae, who took him that same day for a scan to establish if the cancer had spread.
“It didn’t feel real. I thought: ‘Wait. I’m 32. I’m fit, I eat well, I train, I rarely drink. How can this be happening?’ I wasn’t taking everything in,” he said.
“I went to this appointment alone, thinking I would be given the date to get the other polyp cut out, and discuss the operation. That was the last thing I expected.”
Chris left the hospital for the Motherwell gym he and wife
Laura had opened only two weeks previously.
“She was on shift that day. When she asked how my appointment was, I tried to stay strong and hold back the tears.
“When I said: ‘I have cancer’, she just looked at me, waiting for me to say I was kidding. She fell to her knees. I felt terrible,” said Chris, who then had to break the devastating news to his sister and his parents.
“My mum knew something was wrong when I walked in. She told me that everything would be okay, called my dad and asked him to come home from work.
“When he did, he sat and cuddled me until I stopped crying. I felt useless. I felt so bad for everyone I loved.”
After learning the cancer was contained in the bowel, Chris and Laura again met the consultant, whose job it was to explain the next steps – and the associated risks.
“He was quite blunt and definitely didn’t sugar-coat it. It was traumatic and horrible for us both,” continued Chris.
“He told us if I had to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy, it would mean that we might not be able to have any more kids.
“All I’ve ever wanted is to have a big family. We were blessed to already have a daughter, Sofia, and the possibility really knocked the wind out of me.
“I was diagnosed with rectal cancer and told that I needed surgery urgently, as it was very likely to spread quickly to my liver and pancreas. Surgeon Dr Shalli told me I would have to have a temporary stoma. At this point, I didn’t know how much a stoma would help me and how amazing my stoma nurses would be. I have so much respect for people who manage to live with them [stomas]. I honestly admire and respect them all to the highest level.”
Two weeks from diagnosis, Chris’s surgery was set to go ahead.
He told Sofia he was “going away to help someone for a while”, but he’d be back, and she wasn’t to worry.
As he came round in recovery following a successful operation, the nurse sitting beside personal trainer Chris was one of his former clients.
It was she who encouraged him to get up and walk around the following day, and to greet his visiting family at the door of the ward.
“It was what I needed – and the nurse knew it. They were so shocked that I was up on my feet already,” said Chris.
“I had some really dark moments in hospital, but the nurses in Wishaw General were all fantastic and I love them so much for all their help.
“One nurse sat with me at 3am, listening to me when I was struggling. The realisation of having a stoma was tough, and I found it hard to adapt. He helped me through it.
“The stoma nurses also helped me so much. Even with all the support, I really didn’t adjust well. While having the stoma, it took me hours to get a shower or change my top.
“I would cry, listen to motivation podcasts and physically psych myself up every day.” Two weeks after April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month – an annual opportunity to raise awareness of the disease, as well as vital funds to support the work of charity, Bowel Cancer UK. Here, we meet young Lanarkshire dad, Chris Ferri, whose life was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. In the hope of helping others in their cancer journey, Chris opens up about how the disease not only rocked his strong and fit body, but also how he was helped to overcome the scars it left on his mental health and wellbeing, which proved much harder to heal.