No Butts About it – Aim for Greater Motion this June
- Written by
- Dee Ellwood
Ditch the couch this winter in the name of cancer. June is our national Bowel Cancer Awareness month and Bowel Cancer NZ are asking all Kiwis to take part in its 2019 campaign – Move Your Butt.
“Bowel cancer kills as many New Zealanders as breast and prostate cancer combined. In June alone, 250 will be diagnosed and 100 people will die from bowel cancer. It can affect anyone at any age,” says Mary Bradley, spokesperson for Bowel Cancer NZ.
Getting involved in this year’s fundraising isn’t destined for just the athletes amongst us.
“It’s an opportunity for everyone to participate no matter your age or fitness level. Just as bowel cancer has no preference, our support has no bounds,” she explains. “Sign yourself up, get sponsored and set yourself a fitness challenge. For example, going for a walk each day, doing 20 press ups or bike riding.”
Or, if you’re a busy mum on the go like bowel cancer survivor Toni Hamill of Rotorua, committing to 300 crunches a week – knocking them out when the kids go to bed – could be a good option.
“For me, running a marathon isn’t on the cards this year, but I want to show my support – bowel cancer doesn’t pick and choose.”
Toni’s story is the antithesis of bowel cancer’s unpredictable reach. At just 35, she underwent surgery to remove 30cm of her bowel and 11 lymph nodes – just nine weeks after giving birth. With no family history, a lifetime of healthy eating and exercise, her diagnosis was hard hitting but the guessing ended.
“I spent two years experiencing symptoms that doctors wrote off as being something else – and they got progressively worse. For me, I couldn’t rest. I knew there was something more going on than just IBS or haemorrhoids.”
If it doesn’t feel normal, don’t normalise it, is the key takeaway Toni took from her own bowel cancer experience. Now two years clear of the disease, she believes her practical attitude and ‘don’t assume’ mindset saved her.
“No one in my family – bar my great grandfather – has or had the disease. I’ve always been into my body balance and yoga. I’m not a textbook case, but I knew my body best. I didn’t settle.”
Move Your Butt to beat bowel cancer
To show your support for bowel cancer this June or to sign up for the Move Your Butt challenge, head to bowelcancernz.org.nz/move-your-butt and connect at #moveyourbuttnz.