A beloved Perth musician who performs with his brothers has been diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer, just three months after their father died.
Courtney Murphy played a gig with his brother Chris last Monday, and by Tuesday night a CT scan in hospital showed he had a tumour.
“On Thursday they opened him up to get rid of the tumour and that’s when we discovered it’s quite bad,” Chris told 9News.
The cancer is too advanced to operate on, and the 44-year-old has started aggressive chemotherapy to try to save his life.
The musician, who finished third in the 2004 series of Australian Idol, makes a living performing with the family band, which he will no longer be able to do.
Courtney’s shocking diagnosis also comes just three months after his father died from a brain tumour.
His brothers, Chris and Kieran, have started an online fundraising campaign which has already raised more than $42,000.
“As a family we’re going to rally around him as much as we can but in terms of being able to keep their family ticking along, we’re going to need some help,” Kieran said.
“We were little kids when we started playing music together, so for Kieran and I to be faced with this, it’s quite shocking and traumatic. He’s our best friend,” Chris added.
Bowel cancer rates in young adults are on the rise, with Courtney joining the 1716 Australians aged under 50 diagnosed every year.
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program begins from age 50, but Bowel Cancer Australia is pushing for that to be lowered to at least 45, with many people reporting little to no symptoms.
“He’s been on chemo for a couple of days now, and it knocks people around pretty hard. But he’s just sitting there, doing his thing, saying ‘I’m going to do this’,” Chris said.
“It’s inspiring, that’s for sure.”
