Lachie was a typical 36-year-old Sydneysider, happily married and a loving dad to his young son. He loved sport, travel and time with his family, and didn't mind a cheeky beverage with friends.

 

In May 2022, Lachie started experiencing some unusual symptoms: pain, constipation and blood in his stools. Worried, he went to his local GP hoping for a simple answer. The news was reassuring. It was just constipation, so he was told to take laxatives and sent on his way.

 

Weeks went by and the symptoms didn't ease. They got worse by the day, and the pain was keeping him up at night. Lachie knew something was seriously wrong, so he sought second opinion, a GP who recognised the urgeny of his symptoms and sent him straight to ED.

 

Within hours, Lachie was given devastating news. This was far more serious than he could ever have imagined. After weeks of staging, scans and a colonoscopy, he was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. Doctors suspected it had been quietly growing for almost a year.

 

Treatment quickly took over his life. Radiation, chemotherapy and surgery became his new normal, and they left him with life-changing symptoms and effects on his body that he struggled with every day.

 

In March 2023, as his 37th birthday approached, Lachie learned the cancer had spread to other parts of his body. The cure that had once looked promising slipped out of reach.

 

Lachie was determined to live as normal a life as he could. He fought bravely and took every chance to see his friends, get outside with his son and travel, even when the odds were stacked against him. That was how much he loved life.

 

In September 2023, at the age of 37, Lachie passed away.