Blood, Grit And The Will To Live

Dane Campbell On The Day Everything Changed

Dane Campbell has never been one to back down from a challenge. A former rugby league player and now the North Queensland Cowboys’ Head of Recruitment, Dane has faced many battles on the field, but none quite like the one he’s tackling now: stage four bowel cancer.

Fit, active and only 42, Dane said the diagnosis came out of nowhere.

“I felt a sudden urge to go to the bathroom and thought I just had an upset stomach,” he recalled.

“But I randomly happened to look down and it was all blood. That was a massive concern – so unusual – especially given I’d had no other symptoms and was feeling otherwise fit and healthy.”

What could have been brushed off as something minor — as his GP initially suspected haemorrhoids — turned out to be far more serious. Fortunately, that same GP chose to err on the side of caution, referring Dane for a colonoscopy that ultimately changed the course of his life.

“I came out of the colonoscopy and was asked to stick around – that’s when I started to realise something was wrong,” Dane said.

“I was told that I had a cancer in my rectum – the news smashed me in the face pretty hard.”

Dane underwent minimally invasive robotic surgery at Mater Private Hospital

Townsville, led by colorectal surgeon Associate Professor Shin Sakata, who performed an ultra-low anterior resection using cutting-edge technology.

“The location of the cancer meant that the entire rectum had to be removed and, traditionally, that would require patients to have a large incision and a temporary stoma bag,” Prof Sakata explained.

“In Dane’s case, I used the DaVinci Xi robot, a great example of the state-of-the-art surgical technology we have at Mater Private Hospital Townsville. The operation was smooth sailing, and I was able to avoid giving Dane a stoma bag.”

However, Dane’s cancer journey didn’t end there. Follow-up scans revealed a suspicious spot on his liver. What followed was a liver lobectomy and six months of chemotherapy. It confirmed the cancer had reached stage four.

“So, that means I have stage four cancer, but we’re having a red-hot crack at eliminating it,” Dane said.

“At the end of the day, I was fortunate I just happened to look down that day. If I hadn’t – or if I had and dismissed it as haemorrhoids or fissures – the outcome could have been incredibly different.”

Prof Sakata emphasised the importance of early detection and integrated care.

“At Mater Private Hospital Townsville, the close collaboration of colorectal surgeons, liver surgeons, gastroenterologists and oncologists produces patient care of the highest standard,” he said.

“At Mater Private Townsville, the needs of our patients always come first.”

His message is timely.

Around 15,000 Australians are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, and more than 5,000 die from the disease, making it the nation’s second-deadliest cancer. Australia also has the highest rate of bowel cancer in the world in people under 50, with one in nine cases now occurring in younger adults.

Prof Sakata is urging the public not to be complacent.

“We are seeing a recent rise in bowel cancer cases among young people like Dane,” he said.

Red flags include a change in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain, fatigue and, as in Dane’s case, blood in the stool.

“In hindsight, I probably had some discomfort in my abdomen and what I thought was reflux, which I put down to other sickness at the time, when really, it was the cancer,” Dane admitted.

“So, I’d really advocate for early checks and screening, even if you think it’s not necessary.

“I also hadn’t realised at the time, but after being diagnosed, I did a deep dive into my family history and found we have six or seven generations deep of stomach-related cancers, so it’s worth knowing your family history too.”

Now well into treatment, the former footy player is focusing on optimism and health, and living life with even more purpose.

“I joke about it, but the reality is that all the things you know to be true – like eating well, exercising regularly, mindfulness – I think all of those things I’m doing more habitually and as a result I have a pretty positive outlook on beating this,” Dane said.

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