AN Alcester farmer who beat bowel cancer is to be a guest speaker at a national charity event.

Wayne Smith, aged 46, will be at Beating Bowel Cancer’s annual Patient Day at the Charles Hastings Education Centre in Worcester.

The free event provides an opportunity for local patients and their families to take part in interactive workshops on the physical and emotional effects of bowel cancer, practical advice on healthy living during and after treatment and the latest advances in surgery and treatment.

Mr Smith, who lives with his fiancée Sue, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in July 2016.

He had noticed a change in his bowel habit, a feeling of pressure and needing to go much more frequently. He went to see his GP, who examined him and immediately referred Wayne for tests. Six weeks later he was given the life-changing news that he had bowel cancer and would need surgery to remove the tumour.

Wayne was determined to carry on farming, so he wrote to the surgeon telling him about himself and how important successful surgery would be to his quality of life. The surgeon later said that he’d never had a letter that had touched him so much.

Because the cancer was caught early Wayne did not need any further treatment and was given the all clear. Wayne has lost a section of bowel and now has a permanent stoma (colostomy) but finds this easy to manage.

Mr Smith said: "I had excellent care at Royal Worcestershire and was so pleased and relieved to be able to get back to life on the farm."

On their land, Mr Smith and his fiancée, grow most of their own vegetables and rear sheep and pigs, as well as running a Farm Stay business.

The Patient Day event is being held on Saturday, April 8.

For more information visit beatingbowelcancer.org/patient-day.