Before being told he had terminal bowel cancer, a young man was repeatedly turned away by medical professionals and assured he was “young and healthy.” He now has only months to live.
Hans Su, a 29-year-old business analyst from Melbourne, first saw a doctor in 2019 for chronic stomach pain, but the doctor thought he was passing a kidney stone, so they sent him home.
He presented to the emergency room in 2021 with the same symptoms, but doctors suspected a mild illness and once more advised him to return only “if the pain gets worse.”
Mr. Su eventually received the tragic news that he had stage 4 bowel cancer after insisting that doctors scan his stomach in July of last year.
Mr. Su was in the ICU after a “life-saving” procedure went wrong, and in January, he was informed that he has less than a year to live.
‘It never occurred to me that something like death could possibly come so soon, but here I am,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
After undergoing 19 rounds of chemotherapy, the 29-year-old is now working to spread awareness of bowel cancer so that other young people won’t disregard the symptoms.
‘You have to be your body’s strongest advocate. If you know something does not feel right, don’t minimise it, push for further investigation,’ he said.
‘Cancer does not discriminate, it can happen to anyone no matter their age or their overall health status.’
Mr Su could have died without ever being diagnosed had his wife not intervened on the second occasion he wound up in the emergency department for his mysterious stomach pain.
‘My wife basically said to me that I wasn’t allowed home until they did the CT scan,’ he said.
‘They did an ultrasound on my first visit and somehow found nothing despite the tumour being a decent size. So the next logical step was for a better scan.
‘They eventually decided that a CT scan might be helpful but strongly expected to find nothing. I’m sure they were shocked with the results.’
Chemotherapy was unlikely to be helpful because by the time his tumour was discovered, it had already migrated to his peritoneum, the membrane that lines the inside of the abdomen and pelvis.
After eight rounds of chemotherapy failed to show any improvement, Mr. Su underwent a major operation in which the tumor-affected organs were removed.
The typical recovery time for that kind of operation is six months.
‘As described by our previous surgeon, it’s like being hit by a bus six times over,’ Mr Su said in a GoFundMe to help fund his extensive medical expenses.
He underwent the surgery in January but as the cancer had spread to major blood vessels around his liver and heart, surgeons were unable to remove much.
‘I was basically told that I now had terminal cancer, and a cure was no longer on the cards,’ he said.
He said the recovery from the surgery was unbearable, adding the physical and mental pain was exhausting.
‘It also took everything out of me to even just take a few steps, and the sight of having multiple tubes coming out of me was daunting,’ he said.
‘Mentally, I was distraught. To be told you’re dying at the age of 28 was an incomprehensible feeling.’
He claimed that chemo caused him to lose his hair and made the tips of his fingers and the soles of his feet numb. Additionally, he now has blood clots in his lungs.
Last November, Mr. Su wed his spouse earlier than planned. While his wife is helping to care for him while working part-time, he was forced to resign his job.
The two had aspirations of beginning a family together.
As he faced his heartbreaking prognosis, Mr. Su urged young people to never forget to be grateful for what they had in life.
‘One thing that I’ve learnt the hard way is to not take anything for granted,’ he said.
‘Live each day to the fullest, look after your health and be grateful, even if it’s for the smallest things.’
In some positive news, Mr. Su has scheduled a meeting with a Sydney-based surgery team who will assess his case and determine whether any other treatments should be tried. Mr. Su is currently receiving treatment.
In Sydney, another major surgery is scheduled for August.
Mr. Su claimed doctors were hesitant to believe his symptoms were a sign of the disease because the majority of bowel cancer incidences are in people over 50.
According to cancer.net, the average age at diagnosis for males is 68 and 72 for women.
According to data by the Cancer Council, 90% of bowel malignancies can be successfully treated.
Chemotherapy has prevented Mr. Su’s cancer from progressing further, and he believes that his treatment and a second attempt at surgery will allow him to spend more time with his wife and family.
‘I’m not ready to leave this earth yet, there’s just so much more living I want and need to do,’ he said.
