A YOUNG rock bassist in Australia has revealed he only months to live after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
Jordan Brunoli, 29, is the bass guitarist for Brisbane-based band Bugs and last year was told he had colorectal cancer.
The rocker gave a devastating update that after trying all kinds of medical interventions he was told in June that his prognosis was terminal, with him having between three to four months to live.
“I have spent over a year now trying different chemotherapy drugs, backed by an amazing oncologist and treatment team,” Jordan wrote on the band’s Instagram.
“Unfortunately I have a mutation that causes rapid growth of tumours, and none of the treatments have been able to stop the cancer from spreading. I am now entering the final chapter of my life after being told in June I had a prognosis of 3-4 months.”
Jordan vowed to live his life to the fullest and thanked his bandmates, Connor Brooker and Brock Weston and the wider Bugs team for rallying around him to record their latest album, Head Noise.
“I’m forever grateful for the support from Con, Brock and our OG Bugs team who have banded together to indulge my wish, to release our album and play some shows before I go,” he wrote.
“Head Noise means so much to me. I can’t wait for you to hear the whole album.
“We’ve worked on it for the last 2 years, through the good and the bad. We kept recording when I was recovering from surgery, sick from chemo, even when I had neuropathy so bad I couldn’t feel the guitar I was playing.”
He added: “My focus has always been on enjoying the music and sharing it with others.
“Playing, recording and touring around Australia with Bugs has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I just wanna say, if there were a few final shows coming up, you can bet your ass I’ll be playing them.”
Jordan concluded: “Thank you everyone, and watch me enjoy the f**k out of the rest of my life.”
The bassist revealed his cancer diagnosis last year and explained it was at stage 4 because it had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.
Jordan had surgery to remove part of his bowel and got a permanent stoma before beginning chemotherapy.
Bugs launched a fundraiser at the time to help pay his medical bills and to cover his living costs while he couldn’t work.
The musician used his platform to raise awareness about bowel cancer and its rise amongst people under 50.
“Not to be preachy, but if you have witnessed any blood in your stool, experienced weird abdominal pains, unexplained weight loss, or extended periods of fatigue — don’t be afraid to raise it with your GP and ask for an abdominal ultrasound,” Jordan wrote on the fundraising page last year.
“I thought I was too young, but there has been a recent increase in instances of colorectal cancer in people under 30. Getting a diagnosis now could be the difference in a stage 1 tumour or stage 4 metastatic.”
There has been a worrying rise in younger people getting the disease in recent years – many of whom face delays in diagnosis due to their age.
Bowel cancer has become a leading cause of death across the world, and it’s the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
But since the 1990s, rates of bowel cancer in 25 to 49-year-olds have increased by 72 per cent, according to Cancer Research UK – compared to a 6 per cent increase in people aged 50 to 59, and a 3 per cent increase in 60 to 74-year-olds.
Experts said several factors were driving cancer risk in younger adults, with obesity being the main one.
Professor Marc Gunter, from Imperial College London, said: “Obesity seemed to be one potential factor that could be driving increasing rates of cancers both in older and younger people.
“We know that obesity is an established risk factor for around 19 different cancers now.
“For some of these cancers, including colorectal [bowel] cancer, we think this could be partly caused by increased levels of hormones, which often dysregulate in obesity.”
The NHS sends free home testing kits that check for traces of blood in poo – a telltale sign of bwel cancer – to everyone aged 50 to 74 every two years.