Cancer survivor George Ritchie’s vital message - listen to your body and get checked out

Coleraine man George Ritchie has a very clear message to all men out there - listen to your body, if you have ongoing pain and you are the slightest bit concerned, get it checked out - it could just save your life.

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In February this year, George’s world and that of his family imploded when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. However, thanks to his wife Lyn continually urging him to see a doctor, his early detection he is here to tell his story.

George explained; “It all began back in July 2022, I had no energy, I could have slept all day, I was losing weight, had no libido and all of a sudden this back pain started and it was a very, very extreme pain.

“Me being a mechanic I just thought I’ve hurt my back at work, it’s my ligaments, it will go away in a couple of months.

“My wife Lyn kept saying go and get checked out and I said I would if this doesn’t heal but of course it didn’t.”

Lyn added: “Of course he had ignored the symptoms from July until October before finally taking my advice.”
George continued; “I started trying to make appointments with the doctor but couldn’t get past the front desk. “I was told you have a UTI, we need a urine sample. Two weeks passed and another sample was requested but nothing showed up so I insisted on getting an appointment with the doctor.

“I was offered an appointment the first week in November and in the meantime we got all the bloods done and they came back clear and the bowel cancer test also came back negative.

“I insisted to the doctor, something isn’t right please check it. He diagnosed hemorrhoids and gave me cream.

“December was one of the worst months for me because I ended up in hospital with a really bad bleed. At this stage I didn’t have a diagnosis but I was now in the system and the NHS started rolling. We were told it would be four months for an appointment with a consultant.”

Lyn continued: “We had private health insurance so we put that into action and went to Ballykelly and were seen, tested, had scans and saw a consultant all within nine weeks. Then on Valentine’s Day this year he was diagnosed with bowel cancer.”

George, an MOT Inspector at the Coleraine depot had a two-stage tumour and like all cancer diagnosis, it doesn't just affect the patient but the entire family.

“We were devastated,” said Lyn. “It was awful, I was in pieces but George was very strong. We had to go home and tell our 14-year old daughter Ellyn what was happening and the first words out of her mouth were ‘is my daddy going to die’, but George assured her he was going to fight it every step of the way.

George received a call in mid-March from an NHS consultant offering an appointment the next day. He subsequently required major life changing abdominoperineal resection (APR) surgery which took place in Causeway Hospital leaving him with a stoma. Although surgery went well, complications arose and he remained in hospital for 26 days.

“The nursing staff were brilliant,” said George. “I suffered from what is called ileus which is a common thing post surgery. For 23 days I was nil by mouth, was totally bedridden had an infection in my wound, it was a really low time for me.

“Eventually after experimenting with different foods to see what worked, the stoma started working and I was discharged on May 19.”

Thankfully everything has been fine since George got out of hospital.

His wife explained; “The consultant was happy. The stage 2 cancer was removed along with lymph nodes and there was no spread of the cancer and no further treatment was required.

“It will be five years before George is officially declared cancer free however we are so thankful for where we stand today.

“Adjusting to the stoma and bag, the shelves of equipment, the limited mobility and new way of life is still ongoing but we are all getting there.”

“I get frustrated at times,” continued George. “A walk round town and a short drive in the car can leave me exhausted. I get frustrated at times because I can’t do the things I used to but I am getting learning to allow others to help.”

Lyn added: “We are lucky he just has the stoma bag, or our bag for life as we call it. It could all have been so much worse. If he had ignored the symptoms the cancer would have spread he would have had two years at the most. George has fought this from day one, there was no way he was going to let it beat him.”

George wants men to learn from his story.

“A lot of men are not aware of the symptoms and what to look for. A friend went and got checked and is now in palliative care because he waited too long to see someone.

“Men don’t talk and they should. Please don’t mess around, if there’s something not right go and get it checked out and keep forcing the issue until you get seen.

“Listen to your body and remember - early detection saves lives!”