With April being Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, an annual event set aside to increase awareness of bowel cancer and raise funds towards treating this condition, Angus MacDonald shared his own cancer journey this week with Clan Cancer Support and Red Matchday Magazine.
According to Cancer Research UK, in the UK the rate of bowel cancer in the under-50s has increased by around 50 percent since the mid-1990s. It’s estimated that one in 15 men and one in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime.
Angus was diagnosed with the condition aged 26 and has successfully completed treatment and made a full recovery.
The Dons defender aims to further support the charity throughout his time in Aberdeen while continuing his work with The Angus MacDonald Foundation (AMF), the charity he founded in 2020 to raise awareness and highlight the importance of early diagnosis, especially to people under the age of 30.
He said: “I never thought as a 26-year-old professional footballer I would have been diagnosed with bowel cancer. It was a bomb shell. That just goes to show that it can happen to anyone. It can affect people of all ages.”
Angus previously had a blood clot aged 15, and experienced colitis and inflammation in his stomach but started to hide his symptoms after a doctor told him that his health problems could mean he’d never play football again.
It wasn’t until treatment for a clot in his leg years later led to testing which ultimately revealed his cancer diagnosis.
He added: “I would say to anyone with symptoms, get checked as soon as possible. If I had left it any later my journey would not have been as simple. It would not have been just two operations without any chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Quite simply, I might not be here, so my message would be go and get checked as soon as possible.”
Commenting on the partnership, Angus added: “Support charities like Clan play such a significant role. They show that you’re not alone through a journey or treatment.
“Clan House is a great building with brilliant facilities. Going into the Clan building for the first time was a breath of fresh air for me. They also have accommodation for people who are travelling a long way for treatments. I haven’t seen that in other places that I have been before, it’s a brilliant option.
“I’m really happy to be working with the charity as part of bowel cancer awareness month and look forward to working with them in the future too.”
You can read the full interview with Angus in Saturday’s Red Matchday Magazine as the defender also talks about his time on the pitch so far in the North-east.
As well as forging links with Clan, Angus has been busily embedding himself in Granite City life. “I am really enjoying living in Aberdeen. Switching off mentally from training and games is important because it is so intense when you are involved in it. I’m lucky I have got my partner’s and my dogs up here. I have been lost in Balmedie dunes about six times whilst taking the dogs for a walk!
“It’s been a good couple of months here so far. The fans have been fantastic since I first set foot in the club. I can’t praise them highly enough and I want to thank them for the support they have given me, as well as the team. When you look back, I feel like the Dundee United game was a turning point. We had a difficult start that night, but the fans got right behind us. They made the difference.
“It is a great dressing room. There are some great characters in there. Jonny Hayes is a great lad. I came in the other morning and Joe Lewis was shaving his hair off! It is not always the case where you come into the dressing room that there are no bad eggs. You don’t get that a lot in football. It is refreshing when you come into a group and everyone gets on well with each other.”
Red Matchday Magazine is available to buy from in and around the ground on Saturday from the sellers and also in the AFC Club Shop. You can also buy your copy online and have it delivered direct to your door by clicking here
