53-year-old Peter Tiffin from Greenwich in Sydney was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2013 after his wife booked him in for a precautionary colonoscopy.
On Friday night, after a round of successful surgery and treatment he and his son, 14-year-old Toby, tossed the coin at the start of the NRL semi-final game between the Roosters and the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium.
Peter is an ambassador for the Gut Foundation and has joined the NRL’s Kick Bowel Cancer campaign to bring bowel cancer to the forefront of national attention and reduce its alarming death toll. 40 Australians are diagnosed with the disease every day and of those, eleven will die from the disease.
“If I had delayed having a colonoscopy even by just a few months, my prognosis would’ve been much worse and my chances of a cure significantly reduced,”Peter Tiffin said.
“This cancer, if caught early enough has a great chance of being cured. Since my diagnosis I am on a crusade to try and encourage everyone over 50 to have a colonoscopy.”
NRL Ambassador Alan Tongue and Sharks team member Chris Heighington have thrown their support behind the campaign, having felt the impact of the disease with family members.
Heighington, who is also a Bowel Cancer Australia Ambassador, stresses the importance of regular check-ups and seeking advice from your doctor.
“The NRL Kick Bowel Cancer campaign is close to my heart with my dad being diagnosed at the age of 65,” he said.
“He was lucky enough to survive but not everyone is as fortunate.
“There is no shame in getting checked and going to your GP.”
Gut Foundation President Prof Terry Bolin says, “This is a powerful alliance and one which we hope can make a big difference in making people aware of the fact that bowel cancer is preventable if people know the facts and take a simple test.”
The bowel cancer detection survey can be visited at: http://www.nrlkickbowelcancer.com.au/
To view the NRL Kick Bowel Cancer television commercial please follow the YouTube link.