Iain Kerr

In October 2013, Iain Kerr, then 58, was diagnosed with bowel cancer after taking a routine screening test shortly after moving back to Scotland following 35 years working in Education in England.

With no symptoms at all, the test proved life-saving, finding the cancer early enough to be treated quickly and effectively, and allowing Iain to live well again.

When my wife, Wendy, and I both retired, we agreed on a fresh start and she picked Helensburgh. It’s the smallest place I’ve lived, but it’s worked out really well, I’ve been able to enjoy all the things we wanted to do in retirement.

Helensburgh is a lovely town by the sea with stunning views all around. Wendy and I love walking and climbing hills all around the local area and beyond.

We arrived, registered with a doctor, and within two weeks both of our bowel tests arrived. Within a few weeks, believe it or not, we both had to go for a colonoscopy.

Wendy’s was a benign polyp. Mine was found to be a tumour in the lower part of my bowel.

At that point, the Consultant had told me they’d need to do further tests before deciding on the best treatment.

During these tests they managed to get 20 odd lymph nodes – normally they hope for 8 to 12 – and were fairly confident it hadn’t spread because it had been found early.

It’s the only time in my life I couldn’t say anything. I’d got my head around having chemo and radiotherapy… and then I didn’t need them because they’d detected the cancer at such an early stage.

One of the things I said to Wendy in the darkest days early on, when I didn’t know what was going to happen was, whatever time I’ve got left, I’m going to try and make a difference somehow.

As my health improved and I began living well again, that promise stayed with me. My wife saw in the local paper that Bowel Cancer UK were looking for volunteers.

I contacted them, completed training, and I started public speaking in workplaces, community halls and national conferences all around the West of Scotland encouraging others to take part in screening when invited and get any unusual, persistent symptoms checked out. I also did one-to-one support for people going through cancer treatment.

Now, more than a decade on, Wendy and I are living life to the fullest and are enjoying building our lives. We’ve even travelled to Peru to visit our daughter who was staying out there on her university year abroad; it gave us the opportunity to move beyond the ‘simple tourist’, the people were really welcoming and we loved it!

The real message is simple: get checked, get tested. I’m a prime example that you can live well after cancer.

The bowel screening test is now easier than when I did it. The risks are minimal, and the benefits could be huge.

The information in this case study, including ages, are current as of the drafting date.