A 36-year-old husband and father was diagnosed with cancer after he thought he simply had a case of food poisoning<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Matthew Duggan said he thought his symptoms would \u201cjust go away\u201d \u2014 but finally sought medical treatment after \u201cabout a month\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Doctors ultimately discovered a 4-inch tumor in Duggan\u2019s bowels, and he required surgery and six months of chemotherapy<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A 36-year-old man with a wife and young child thought he had a case of food poisoning \u2014 but it turned out to be cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mathew Duggan of Tasmania, Australia, noticed a change in his bowel habits in February 2024, per the Daily Mail<\/a>. He told the outlet that he began experiencing diarrhea but \u201cthought it would just go away.\u201d<\/p>\n Duggan said the symptom \u201cdragged on\u201d for \u201cabout a month,\u201d adding, \u201cthen I started to feel pain, and eventually I noticed blood in my stool. That’s when I finally called the doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n His doctor initially reassured him that it was \u201cnothing serious.\u201d<\/p>\n Duggan recalled, \u201cBecause of my age, I was told it would probably just be hemorrhoids<\/a> or polyps. Cancer wasn’t on the radar.”<\/p>\n However, a colonoscopy revealed that he had a 4-inch cancerous tumor in his bowel \u2014 news that he never expected.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Heart monitor (stock image)<\/p>\n \u201cAt 36, you’re focused on work, family, your little girl. Cancer just doesn’t cross your mind,\u201d Duggan told the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n Duggan had surgery on the tumor in May 2024. He then underwent six months of chemotherapy<\/a>, which he said was the most grueling part of the process due to the neuropathy pain the treatment caused in his lower extremities.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe neuropathy in my feet got so bad that there were times I wanted to cut both my legs off. It felt like someone stabbing the bottoms of my feet constantly \u2014 pins and needles, burning, just unbearable pain. I couldn’t walk from the bed to the fridge. Some days I couldn’t go to work. It was the worst pain of my life,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n He also said that he and his wife chose not to tell their then-3-year-old daughter about his diagnosis.<\/p>\n \u201cShe [my daughter] didn’t come with me to the hospital or see me during chemo. We didn’t want to expose her to it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Patient in hospital (stock image)<\/p>\n He added, \u201cShe only knows the positives now \u2014 the fundraising we’ve done<\/a>, the support we’ve had from the community. She’s been my biggest little supporter without even knowing what I was going through.\u201d<\/p>\n Duggan also said he opted to keep his diagnosis a secret from many people in his life.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t want my life to change. I didn’t want people coming up to me all the time, asking how I was, looking at me differently because I had cancer. I just wanted to get on with treatment quietly and try to keep things normal,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Duggan told the outlet he began seeking community in cancer support groups<\/a>, which made him feel less alone.<\/p>\n “It was a relief to finally see I wasn’t the only one. That helped lift a weight off my shoulders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As for the advice he hopes to impart to others after his experience with diagnosis and treatment?<\/p>\n \u201cYour body tells you when something’s wrong. Don’t wait. Don’t let anyone dismiss it because of your age. If I had ignored it any longer, it could have been too late,\u201d Duggan said.<\/p>\n In May, Duggan ran more than 300 miles over 12 days as part of a \u201cDo It For Cancer\u201d fundraising event.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m wanting to create awareness around bowel cancer, especially in young people, as every health professional I\u2019ve seen across my journey told me that I\u2019m too young to have [it],\u201d he wrote on the fundraising page.<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cI want to make young people aware of the symptoms and to get checked as early as possible to stop young people dying from this disease.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/6f13f583e36ed95e5b7fff2ad397023c.jpeg\"\/)
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