Justin McLean at forty had a successful career, a happy family life and a passion for cycling. It didn't seem possible that anything would change.

When Justin learned he had bowel cancer, he thought how was it possible. He was young, fit and with no history of cancer in his family.

In Australia, more than 14,000 men and women are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year and it is not limited to certain age groups. The cause is unknown but genetic and environmental factors are thought to play their part. A routine colonoscopy discovered a tumour in Justin’s bowel. He didn’t have time to be sick. Apart from his busy working life as an international management consultant, he had a young family and a house undergoing renovation. Justin’s plans for the
future simply did not include serious illness. “That’s cancer. No dialogue. No preparation. No forewarning; just a decision from someone, somewhere that you are up. A hugely disempowering experience. That’s what kept coming back to me in the days that followed. I felt I had been robbed,” says Justin.

Tackling his diagnosis head-on, suddenly Justin was thrust into a world where people were speaking a language he
did not understand. Being treated for cancer – and experiencing the lack of control and personal indignities that patients endure to ensure their disease is eradicated – was life changing.

“For me, my partner and my children, I had to beat cancer. There was no plan B, which quickly became a mantra; an aspiration to not just survive cancer, but to thrive. I just felt that as a 40 year-old it was not time to look my children in the eye and say ‘kids, my time on earth is done’. It wasn’t right and it consumed my thinking day in, day out,” says Justin.

“During my dark days, I set myself a goal that was far removed from my illness. Something that would change my mindset from defence to offense and lift me to a place not related to cancer”. It was during his radiation that a close friend promised Justin that if he beat cancer, they would return to Corsica where they had cycled the year before. Justin’s love of cycling runs deep. During his treatments, he would ride, even if for only six minutes of the day. It was his sanctuary, a respite from the pain and the fear.

That promise was realised in October 2014 when Justin and 20 friends rode through the incredibly scenic Corsican countryside. It closed the chapter on cancer and celebrated what lay ahead. “Everyone who goes through cancer must find their own Corsica,” says Justin. “I want to inspire everyone to find their turquoise waters and mountainous ranges. They must find their reason to live, their reason to thrive. Simply surviving is not enough. We have to evolve our thinking from that of survivor to that of a thriver. Regardless of your prognosis, you are entitled to thrive not just survive”.

Acknowledgments: Cabrini Connect, June 2015