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“I FELT QUITE well, I didn’t feel sick, but I was just diagnosed with bowel cancer.”
Paul Mohan was diagnosed with testicular and kidney cancer at the age of 21 in 1984. After a short battle, he soon recovered.
Living as a diabetic, Mohan, now aged 54, has had to undergo regular blood tests for years.
In 2016, one particular blood test came back with inconclusive results. His doctor ran the test again. It still wasn’t right.
“I was passing a bit of blood too, so my doctor took the initiative and he sent me to St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin for a colonoscopy,” Mohan told TheJournal.ie.
Once at the hospital, Mohan saw a consultant and had an MRI scan done.
It showed that I had a tumour, high up in the colon. I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
Mohan received his diagnosis on 30 December 2017.
“It was upsetting. Considering I don’t smoke and at the time I was just a social drinker, and particularly the date that was in it, the day before New Years’ Eve, it wasn’t ideal,” he said.
“The first thought that went through my mind was how do I tell family and friends. The second thought was what did I do to cause it but the doctors said I did nothing.”
Keeping positive
On 7 March 2017, Mohan underwent a 10-hour surgery on his colon. He spent over three weeks in recovery.
Two months later, he began the first of 12 sessions of chemotherapy, which he would receive three days every two weeks.
“It was hard going but as the sessions went on it got harder and harder because it had a cumulative effect,” Mohan said.
Despite the fact that the chemotherapy got increasingly harder, Mohan said that it was vital to keep a positive mindset.
“During chemo, I made sure I was getting up every day. I read what chemo can do and thankfully it just made me very tired,” he said.
I would urge people to keep away from Google. Anything that you want to know about cancer, just ask the oncology team and they will tell you in plain English.
Mohan noted that keeping a positive mindset certainly isn’t the easier thing in the world when you are facing a battle with cancer. However, he said that setting small goals for himself throughout his journey helped him keep a bright outlook on his life.
Rely on family and friends and talk to family and friends. Try to get your own mind around it and ask your oncology team everything. When it comes to something like this there is no stupid question.
“To get your head around it would be to sit down and say this time next year I will be back to work. Set yourself small goals, say you’re going to do this or that in one month’s time. One very small goal I set myself was to get out of bed every day,” he said.
Getting checked
Over 2,700 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in Ireland. More than 1,000 people die from the disease every year, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in Ireland.
Throughout his conversation with TheJournal.ie, Mohan stressed the importance of going to see a doctor if you have even the slightest concern about a symptom.
“I would urge anybody who even thinks they have a symptom to go to the doctor because this type of cancer is basically a silent killer,” he said.
“The only symptom I had was sometimes passing blood. I felt actually quite well, I didn’t feel sick.
There’s nothing to fear in going to the doctor and there’s nothing to fear in a colonoscopy. If I hadn’t have gone to the doctor, chances are I would be a lot sicker today.
The symptoms of bowel cancer include:
April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. To speak to a cancer nurse on any aspect of bowel cancer, contact the Cancer Nurseline on 1800 200 700, or email cancernurseline@irishcancer.ie.
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For a tiny insignificant country we really have it lucky the way we’ve access to US presidents who having been visiting the Emerald Isle now for decades. To have a sitting president who is also an employer in Ireland is just unprecedented. We constantly hear tripe about the EU and Ireland is at the ‘heart of Europe’ but America has done far more for us than being a colony to Germany/France.
@Windom Earle: Spot on.
@Windom Earle: spot on
@Windom Earle: who paid for the roads you drive on. Who pays farmers for there quotas. The EU has done for more for this little country in the last 40 years than a couple of US presidents.
@Windom Earle: Shhh stop talking sense. Boo Trump. I rEad bAd thiNGs ab0ut tRump in Sheep Weekly.
@Windom Earle: Trump is only interested in America, you think if he could bring Apple and Google back to America with all those jobs he wouldn’t?? He is not an employer here, unless you’re only counting Doonbeg?
@Windom Earle: Nothing to do with luck Wisdom….. Thanks to the millions upon millions of IMIGRANTS that came from Ireland. Helped build America and integrated into every Facit of life there. Who are now a very powerful voter generic to tap into come election time for votes. Hence…. WISDOM why we get access to their presence whenever they need the points swing in the poles.
@Windom Earle: what a load of nonsense
@Marc Power: what do you expect from a trump supporter?
@MyBrokenKnees: last I’ve heard we have given the eu 200+ billion in fishing rights for those roads and farm subsidies over the past 40 years. That combined with saddling gamblers debt on the children and grandchildren of our current tax payers ( myself and spouse ) included. The US dollar sent home from EMIGRANTS in the US kept this country’s poor fed for decades unlike the enslavement to EU debt imposed in the last decade which will have the majority of citizens on there knees in the very near future
@Eugene Conroy: good man eugene a slanted opinion of course sure theres no fish outside irelands fishing limits .. we gave the EU 200 billion worth of fish .. did they not have to catch them first and land a huge amount of them in our ports to have them processed and as for the money from America to feed the poor good God man get your head out of peig sayers..
@Eugene Conroy: Good man Eugene crawl and bow to your masters. To those quislings who sold out………!
@Thomas Quinn: millions upon millions .. why not use a trump ism altogether.. billions and billions
@MyBrokenKnees: our fish according to some commenter
@Windom Earle: Winddumb! I see your lobotomy was a success
@Windom Earle: __ Never have I seen so much complete and utter bowlocks in a comment on the Journal.
@Windom Earle: Trump only cares about 2 things, himself and people like him. I will admit that he isn’t the worst president that has been in the Oval Office but his ignorance and complete lack of common sense is nothing short of astonishing. I think 50 cent was right, he ran for president to get his name out there again so he could get back into the lime light, I don’t think he thought he could win and now he’s just sticking to the script that got him elected.
@MyBrokenKnees:
So we gained our freedom and independence from the Brits, only to run under the wing of the EU for roads and quotas. Can’t wait for the day when we the people remove the tolls on these roads.
@Eugene Conroy:
Spot on
@Candace: You are loyal to The Vatican State, not Ireland, hypocrite.
@Windom Earle: If America and the UK do well then we do well.
Its not a joke its a fact, support them while times are tough and they will remember it.
The M50 has paid for itself… The farmers have to limit production to fill quotas (This is not a good thing) The payment they get is called a subsidy for not over farming.
Ireland fought hard for its freedom and a boomer generation sold it for cheap money.
@Orla Smith:
How’s Maggie and the Klan, business good?:)
Like two pri(ks in a pod
Nigel got his kids German passports just in case.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: no he did not. Their mother is German and have been long term dual citizens.
Nigel Farage would not be entitled to get them a German passport.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: you’re nonsense has been emphatically fed back to you.
@Darius Guppy: Nigel Farage Freely admitted two of his children have both British and German Passports and his own great Grandfather Migrated from Germany to the UK. are contradicting him? https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/18/nigel-farage-admits-his-children-hold-german-as-well-as-uk-passports
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh:
I think the point Darius was making is that Farage’s children obtained German passports by virtue of their German mother as your link to the Guardian article confirms.
Your original post implied that Farage personally obtained them and I assume you meant through his own lineage which was not the case.
@Charles Alexander: no I pointed out his own lineage as an example of Migration he opposes. Also his kids have long time German passports which would have required his authorization as kids getting passports require parents consent.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: His first wife was Irish and he has two children with her.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: Trump would love you, another fake news merchant for him to moan about.
Hope he has a great time over here!
I don’t care anymore about armchair protesters who know nothing about politics.
@TheFreeSpeechParty: And you do?
@Keith O’Reilly: He’s an Irexit and Gemma O’D supporter, The Unvotables, LOL! Cuckoo, cuckoo!
@TheFreeSpeechParty: The Democrats can’t touch him on the Politics . They are determined to get him 4 more years .
Imagine these two in the same room as Keith Duffy and the chunky bloke from Westlife that was married to the Atomic Kitten one. The amount of antimatter generated could potentially tear the universe to pieces
@Roy O’Rourke: That would make Keith Duffy the smartest guy in the room I reckon.
I only read today that, before Trump’s juvenile remark, Sadiq Khan called Trump a “20th century fascist”. What a stup1d thing to say! Remarkable how underreported this is but not surprising!
@Jack Simpson: Trump does fancy himself a fascist dictator you can see this with him cozying up to the like of Putin,Netanyahu and Kim Jong-un.
@Christopher Mulrooney: Trump is not a fascist. Neither are the people you mentioned. Trump derangement syndrome is widespread!
@Jack Simpson: __ He’s not a 20th Century fascist, he’s a 21st Century fascist.
@Jack Simpson: Khan is bringing London back a few centuries anyway .
Love is blind and dangerous liaisons are formed then again voters get what they deserve see what the love in with FG has achieved
@Martin Brennan: we get the politicians we deserve eh
Poor old Melania, always looks like a hostage, hopefully one day soon she’ll tell all.
@Orla Smith: I hear she’s putting out for the Donald tonight . Lucky Guy !
@Pl O’neill: Creep.
Donald is getting loads of Rumpy Pumpy from Melania this Holiday . Great Guy .
Nigel Farage = Great Guy . The Gretest Freedom Fighter since Michael Collins .
Another Great Victory in the Peterborough By-Election on Tuesday .
Nigel just gets better and better and better .
If Irish Republicans had their Nigel Farage All of Ireland would be Free .
Thick as thieves
@southside: But did you hear about the UK privatising their NHS to US companies???
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/04/trump-says-he-turned-down-corbyn-request-to-meet
Farage, there’s a ‘negative force’ for you!
Look on the bright side US about to turn the UK into a dependent vassal state with no say in US politics. Next PM will be a lap dog, and possibly grow two heads after eating US genetically modified food. The terra firma will be an aircraft carrier for US forces, who will pilage the local maidens UK once a empire now becomes a colony of US imperialism with Nigel Farage as governor general. Queen consigned to was model.
May Farage Jacimov???
Ah yes… But there is a storm, and then there are strikes in France, and then there are the French … Good luck
Nice to see Two Docks Happy
@pat seery: DUCKS
The poster of Farage kissing Trump in this story is problematic because of its homophobia.
The message it is clearly sending is that being gay is laughable.
The person carrying the banner is a homophobic bigot.
I loathe Trump and Farage and I loathe that poster for its vile message.
Trump has made enquiries regarding the
King position in U.K…..
When will commentators, journalists, sub-editors and people in general learn the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’? They’re over there with their friends. Not too difficult.
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