In early 2020, Dublin musician Glenn Keating noticed he was feeling more tired than usual.
“I was dealing with what felt like exhaustion, but I had a young baby at the time and was working really hard in my job, so I put it down to all of that.”
“I then began experiencing abdominal pains and cramps and just generally wasn’t feeling right. Retrospectively, my loo habits had also changed, but I think I was a bit embarrassed to focus too much on that at the time.
“I rang my GP who arranged a colonoscopy for me, they said I should have an appointment within two weeks. However, this was just as covid kicked off and the weeks started to pass without any update on an appointment. My calls and emails went unanswered, and lockdown in Ireland was well underway.
“I was still getting bouts or waves of pain and one day in July the pain became so intense, I ended up in hospital. The doctors there finally gave me a date, time and location for a colonoscopy, and I was sent home with the prep drink to have the night before.
“I had looked online about what to expect after you take the prep drink and followed all the instructions. However, hours passed and nothing had happened, my bowel wasn’t close to being empty. I knew this wasn’t right and I then began feeling extremely unwell and an ambulance was called.
“The next few hours were a blur and some of the most intense pain I had ever experienced. In hospital it was discovered that there was a massive tumour in my lower colon which was causing a huge blockage.
“Hearing the words “its cancer” was a massive shock, I was only 40 at the time. Cancer was not on my mind, let alone bowel cancer. As covid was still around, I had no family with me hearing the news. I had to call my wife to tell her about the diagnosis, which was incredibly distressing.
“The hospital came up with a treatment plan pretty quickly. They would try to reduce the tumour size with 6 sessions of chemo and then follow with surgery. After further investigation it was found that the cancer had spread to my liver also. So, after the 6 sessions of chemo, the surgery changed to include my bowel and liver.
“After I completed surgery, I went on to have 12 more sessions of chemo. I finished this in April 2021 and for the first few months after, my scans showed no cancerous activity. However, at my 6-month scan, cancer was found in my lung and lymph nodes. It was at this point that I was advised I wouldn’t be looking at remission but rather maintenance treatment.
“Since then, I have been having chemo off and on, I just started my fifth cycle. I respond well to it generally, but it’s been a long road. I tell myself I am lucky in ways that I respond so well, with some side effects but overall, I feel pretty okay.
“I decided I wanted to find a challenge I could achieve and fundraise for the Irish Cancer Society. My wife and I received counselling at our local cancer support centre, which is funded by the Irish Cancer Society. This was an incredible resource and so helpful in trying to navigate this diagnosis. It’s reassuring knowing that these supports are always available.
“I am going to be undertaking a ‘Coast to Coast’ cycle from Dublin to Galway at the start of May, alongside my two brothers.
“My whole family has just been so wonderful over the last few years. Cancer has made me so aware of how lucky I am to have them in my life.
On advice he would give to others, Glenn says “You know the phrase ‘the squeaky wheel gets the oil?’ I have discovered this is definitely true. It’s hard to advocate for yourself, but when it comes to ill health and cancer, you have to learn how to do it. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions, ask what something means or push for answers. If you catch things early enough, it can make a massive difference. Don’t be afraid to be a squeaky wheel.”
