A bodybuilder who was told he might die before he turned 40 after his bowel cancer was missed has said the screening age for the disease must be lowered.
In 2022, Mat Dean, then 39, trained hard for a bodybuilding show but behind the image of perfection, he was seriously unwell.
"I looked great, I felt great at that time. But little did I know I had a cancerous tumour inside me that was going to try and kill me," said Mat, from Bridgend.
Mat has since had multiple surgeries after cancer spread to his bladder and liver but said he was "fortunate" he was "here to tell the tale". The Welsh government said it followed national guidance on screening.
Mat's symptoms started the year before when he would have sporadic, severe stomach pain and find some blood when he had been to the toilet.
