Wellington councillor cancer-free after boogie board blow led to shock diagnosis

Wellington city councillor Sean Rush. Photo / Supplied

A Wellington City councillor was playing with his son in the waves when a boogie board hit his stomach and set off a chain of events that would end in a shock cancer diagnosis.

Sean Rush and his family were holidaying in Ōpōtiki in January.

A wave took Rush by surprise and dumped him into the edge of his son's boogie board.

"I knew immediately it was a stronger blow than an ordinary thing I might get in a rugby match," Rush said.

After some consideration Rush decided he was okay, but decided to keep an eye out for any symptoms of internal injury over the coming days.

Sure enough, he noticed some blood in his stool over the course of a couple of days that then went away again.

The family returned to daily life in Wellington, but the blood in his stool was playing on Rush's mind - he had a mate who died of bowel cancer.

Rush decided to book an appointment with his GP. His doctor took the situation "pretty seriously" and referred him for a colonoscopy.

Two weeks later Rush was sitting in a surgeon's clinic being told they'd found a carcinogenic tumour in his bowel.

"I just about fell off the chair."

Rush was then booked in for an MRI and CT scan. It was about this time Rush's wife and daughter tested positive for Covid-19, followed by his son, and then him too.

Sean Rush tuned into the council's district plan meeting during a check-up. Photo / Supplied

Following the scans, he received a phone call that the cancer was constrained to his bowel. Rush has only really appreciated the weight of this call in hindsight.

"I look back at that now as probably the most important news of my life, but at the time I was feeling so healthy that I wasn't convinced they had even got the initial diagnosis right."

Rush said he was then "a mess, kind of all over the show" until a treatment plan was put together and he could see the way forward.

He took leave from council and had six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation.

Rush shared the same oncologist as his wife, who had breast cancer in 2019 and has been in remission for three years.

Then, another colonoscopy to see if the treatment had worked. The appointment was on the same day the council was in intense debate about a radical overhaul of city planning rules.

Rush tuned in while he was being prepped for the procedure, but thankfully the actual colonoscopy was done during the council's lunch break.

It's early days, but Rush is cancer free.

"I'm not counting my chickens at this stage."

Rush said if he didn't have the accident with the boogie board, he might have never bothered looking at his stool, and then seek medical attention.

He is currently in Fiji on holiday with his family during the council's winter recess.

Rush still hasn't made up his mind as to whether he will stand for council again.

Bowel Cancer New Zealand said symptoms may come and go, so people shouldn't wait if they have any concerns, no matter what age they are.

Bowel cancer symptoms may include:

• Bleeding from the bottom (rectal bleeding)

• Change of bowel motions/habits that come and go over several weeks

• Anaemia

• Severe persistent or periodic abdominal pain

• A lump or mass in the abdomen

• Tiredness and loss of weight for no obvious reason