'Just get checked. Better to find nothing wrong, than learn too late'

When Jody Connaughton turned 60 and received his postal invitation to participate in BowelScreen, he did not take it up

Jody Connaughton, who is being treated for stage four bowel cancer, at his home in Ashford, Co Wicklow. Picture: Gareth Chaney.

When Jody Connaughton, a 66-year-old dad-of-three from Ashford, Co Wicklow, turned 60 and received his postal invitation to participate in BowelScreen in January 2019, he did not take it up.

“I disregarded it. I’ve always been a healthy person. I never thought there’d be anything wrong with me.”