A goal to win the battle with behinds

By DANIEL CLARKE
17/06/26

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A pair of shock diagnoses and parallel treatments has captured island hearts, but the two inspiring cancer patients are now on a mission to tackle people’s minds. 

 

Teacher Emma Bell and ambulance officer Mos Howard mirror one another’s thoughts: they wouldn’t wish the battle against bowel cancer on anyone but there’s an empowerment in sharing the journey.  

 

Having undergone multiple rounds of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to rid their bowels of abnormal cells, the pair are now taking their story of awareness to the community, determined to highlight the importance of early detection.

 

To mark Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, the Dudley United Football and Netball Club painted last weekend’s home fixture blue as part of the Lift Your Game campaign – with Bell and Howard taking centre stage on the field and in the crowd.

 

Howard gave a rousing and emotional speech to A and B grade footy players while Bell shared her experiences at a Cancer Council SA information desk and supported junior club members raising funds at a busy sweets stall. Blue coloured cupcakes, cookies, chocolates and cheesecake were popular in a crowd that also enjoyed face painting and a lolly number guessing game.   

 

Netball players of all ages wore blue ribbons in their hair and the Dudley football teams donned blue socks and armbands for the games against Kingscote. 

 

Before the A-grade football match, Howard - a former Kangaroo Island Citizen of the Year - stood in the middle of a large circle of football players from both sides, as well as a throng of supportive community members, and opened up about his battle.

 

“I was having issues for nearly 12 months and tried every home remedy under the sun before I got help. I waited far too long,” Mos said.

 

“I was having difficulty going to the toilet to the point that I couldn’t stand it any longer so after seeing the doctor I had to have a colonoscopy. They came back to me and said we’ve got a bit of bad news and it’s going to be a difficult run. 

 

“The cancer shrunk pretty quickly with the chemotherapy initially. Then I went on to radiotherapy and thought this is a walk in the park – it was easy. But after 10 sessions things changed dramatically. I was in bloody agony to be quite honest and I wouldn’t wish it on my worse enemy - not that I’ve got too many of them. 

 

“I went through about three or four weeks of absolute hell and the painkillers did absolutely nothing so I stopped taking them.

 

“The message to all is if you’ve got any problems in your rectal area go and get it checked out. The earlier you can get it sorted the better because you can avoid what I’ve had to go through.”

 

Howard said that when the football club asked him to speak, he thought it was “a good way to give back to the community that has supported us so well”.

 

“Most people know me so it's a good thing that that I can come out and tell my story, and it might save someone else a lot more grief.” 

 

He is today undergoing a six-hour surgery in Adelaide to remove “lots of bits and pieces that you don’t really want removed”.

 

“The surgery will basically get rid of my anus so when I come out of this I won't be a complete arsehole!” Mos joked. 

 

“So that’s the fun we’ve got to endure this week. I got my hopes up that wasn’t going to happen but I will end up with a colostomy bag. 

 

“It does appear that younger people are getting more susceptible to this disease. There are a huge amount of people a lot younger than I am that have been diagnosed and going through what I have been through. It’s not an old person’s thing even if I am an old person.”

 

Kingscote Campus secondary teacher Emma Bell is in full agreeance, having been diagnosed with the disease at age 42.

 

“I had some strange pain on my left side that the doctors kept investigating,” Bell said. “And then once I had some bleeding I was referred for a colonoscopy, which to my shock led to a diagnosis of stage three bowel cancer.

 

“It had spread to my lymph nodes but that wasn’t discovered until I had about 30cm of my bowel removed. If you're aged 45 to 74, you're eligible for the free screening kits that get sent out through the government's program. But if you're under 45, you can still get screened. You just have to buy a screening kit online and I wasn't aware of that at all until after I was diagnosed. 

 

“So that's something I'm now really passionate about. This disease is on the rise in young people and researchers still don't know why. It’s now one of the deadliest forms of cancer and it's really important that we know that our age group can get screened because unfortunately by the time symptoms like bleeding appear, it means if you do have bowel cancer it is likely to be advanced.

 

“When I first got diagnosed, I felt really embarrassed as well and a bit gross because I certainly wasn't someone who wanted to talk about bowels but now I probably don't shut up about it because I really want that stigma to be broken.

 

“It's so important to talk about it because they are symptoms that you could so easily dismiss as a dietary change. The more comfortable we are talking about these things, the more likely we are to seek help if something's not right.”

 

Bell, who described her chemotherapy as “brutal”, said the support of community had been “truly beautiful”.

 

“My colleagues at the school wrapped their arms around my family and I and supported us with meals. Mos’s family has been an amazing support and the Colour For Cancer fundraiser at Dudley Wines earlier this year was a massive highlight in the middle of my treatment. I feel so grateful to live here and to know that not just me, but my whole family was being looked after.

 

"It's just made my heart so full to see the kids walking around today with the cupcakes and cookies, everything covered in blue, and raising awareness about this. They'll know that cancer can be scary but it is something people can get through.”

 

Dudley United Football Club Vice-President Kelly Neville expressed her “sincere gratitude to everyone who supported the Lift Your Game campaign for bowel cancer awareness”.

 

“This initiative was not only a powerful demonstration of support for members of our own community currently undergoing treatment, but it also succeeded in sparking health conversations,” Neville said.

 

“Hearing these discussions take place made the time and effort invested into the day profoundly worthwhile.”

 

The Island Independent will publish a short documentary video about the day in the coming week.