A runner whose pain in his bottom led to a life-changing cancer diagnosis has joked he hoped for a Kim Kardashian-inspired replacement after surgeons sculpted him a new buttock. Carpenter

Andy Spary, 39, started experiencing extreme pain in his left buttock last year before a devastating stage three bowel cancer diagnosis, which means doctors need to remove “a big chunk of

his bum”. Despite the seriousness of the operation, Andy and his wife Amy, 35, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, are finding positives in that his cancer is treatable and could come with a new

look after planned surgery because doctors used nearby tissue to sculpt him a new buttock. Andy, also a former rollerblader, aims to run the London Marathon with his new derriere next year

a voluptuous number which might be good for bouncing off when I fall on my skates – Kim Kardashian’s name got thrown around a lot.” Andy’s symptoms began in March 2024 when he went to

A&E at Tunbridge Wells Hospital with severe burning pain like an abscess in his left buttock – which was initially put down to a skating injury. An MRI scan followed by a biopsy revealed

a tumour in the tract off his colon and doctors diagnosed him with stage three bowel cancer on June 14, 2024. This was linked to his existing Crohn’s disease, which causes chronic

inflammation and swelling in the digestive tract and can lead to abnormal cell growth. “They class it as colon cancer but the tumour has branched off of my colon in my buttocks area and is

spreading,” Andy said. “We’re focusing on the positives, which helps, taking it that it’s treatable and I can beat it.” On July 8, Andy had a stoma put in place to put the cancerous area of

his body out of action and prepare him for chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which he began two months later. But the tumour did not shrink as much as doctors had hoped so Andy had a second

operation on May 21 which will hopefully leave him cancer-free with his stoma still in place. “In an ideal world, if the treatment completely destroyed the tumour then the stoma could be

reversed,” he said. “But realistically I think this is rare and if they could’ve shrunk the tumour down as much as possible it meant they wouldn’t have to take out as big of a chunk of my

bum. The plan was always to have surgery and end up with a stoma bag for life.” On May 21, doctors removed the remaining section of Andy’s colon, including what was left of his tumour. A

plastic surgeon then carried out laparoscopic elape surgery to repair his pelvic floor and reconstruct his bottom using tissue from the area. “One surgeon removes the tumour and then the

plastic surgeon patches everything up,” Andy said. “New bum, new me, all good.” Another advantage to the operation is that it is likely to relieve him of his Crohn’s symptoms because the

affected area will mostly be removed. Andy’s passion for rollerblading has landed him in hospital many times and he said is “no stranger to surgery”. He said running has also helped him to

stay strong both physically and mentally. Before his second operation, he would go on runs in between fortnightly chemotherapy sessions when he felt strong enough. This sparked his goal to

run the 2026 London Marathon on behalf of Trekstok for which he has so far raised more than £3,350 on GoFundMe. “During my process battling this, I feel I’ve been incredibly fortunate to

have had my wife and my parents to support me,” Andy said. “But a lot of people might not have that support and Trekstok helps young people who feel they have their whole life planned out

for them and then something like this happens without a support system around them. “I’ve been blown away by the GoFundMe support, making £2,500 in under a week and it’s still going. If I

could make £10,000, that would be unbelievable.” Andy is currently recovering from surgery in hospital and hopes to be discharged by the end of May. He will have to relearn to walk with the

help of physiotherapy before restarting his marathon training by the end of the year. So far, he has managed to sit up and take his first steps. He said doctors are confident the surgery was

a success but he will have to wait at least one month for a scan to confirm whether he is cancer-free. “Keeping fit and healthy has been my best weapon,” Andy said. “Having the goal of

running my first marathon next year – stoma bag and all – is my motivation to stay positive and keep going. After this process, I’ll be back on my feet, stronger and fitter with no more

Crohn’s and no more cancer, sorted.”