The fitness star looked the picture of fitness in this picture revealing the ticking time bomb lurking inside her body.
Two years ago, rugby union star Todd McManus looked into the picture of good health.
But his rugby career was cut short after the center fell ill at the age of 23.
McManus was born in Darwin and had a promising future in the game.
Having excelled as a youth player, he would be scouted by the ACT Brumbies in 2017 and would go on to join their development squad.
The center would later join the Queanbeyan Whites and work his way up the ranks before helping the club’s first team win the Premiership title in 2022.
Speaking in an interview with the NT News, McManus said success is something ‘no one can take away from me’.
The agency showed off his ripped body as he posed online with many of his teammates after winning the premiership.
But when he visited his partner Courtney Tamati’s family in Queensland, things changed.
The rugby player was rushed to hospital with severe stomach pains but after tests, doctors told McManus he had a stomach problem and it was nothing to worry about.
‘I suddenly woke up with 10/10 stomach pains. I ended up curled up in a ball on the floor moaning in pain. I was rushed to hospital only to be released with ‘severe gastro’,’ McManus wrote on social media.
Promising rugby union player Todd McManus (left) was the epitome of fitness a few years ago
McManus (right) was rushed to hospital with stomach pains but doctors told him he had ‘severe gastro’.
A year passed but the ardent rugby fan still had symptoms. He was always tired and his love for the game was starting to wane. He added that he was not interested in many things in life.
She said: ‘I was referred to a gastroenterologist and had surgery to look better.
‘I was in the waiting room to be discharged when my surgeon came into the room and took me to a private room. ‘He told me they found a 2cm tumour, took it out and sent it for a scan.
‘Three stressful weeks later I sat down with my partner Courtney and heard the words ‘Todd you have cancer’.’
Life would soon change for the Darwin native, who later returned home after being diagnosed with cancer.
He said: ‘Hearing that was another shock to the system, but I had to keep my chin up and deal with it. ‘That’s what this trip was, it was bad news all the time.’
He was 23 when he began his treatment, and the rugby player underwent gastric bypass surgery a month after his diagnosis.
He was later diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes.
He said: ‘Hearing that was another shock to the system, but I had to keep my chin up and deal with it.
‘That’s what this trip was, it was bad news all the time.’
But at the age of 23 his life changed after he was diagnosed with colon cancer
Reflecting on her first round of chemotherapy, McManus says she feels like she ‘woke up from a coma’.
Recounting the horrific side effects, the now 24-year-old said she could not even drink water without feeling like there were ‘blades’ cutting her throat. He added that those feelings made him cry, saying that he felt as if he had ‘a knife in my eyes’.
He said: ‘These drugs left me with constipation and diarrhea which was bad after multiple stomach surgeries.
But McManus also opened up to the center about the impact it had on her mental health, saying she was ‘too scared to leave the house’ and didn’t know herself.
He said: ‘I went from being a confident young man, playing football, always in the gym, and people often complimented me on my shape.
‘From there to being afraid to go shopping, to being too anxious to go anywhere was very difficult personally.’
In December 2023, he took to Instagram to thank everyone who supported him throughout his treatment, posting a picture of himself ringing the bell.
‘WE CELEBRATE VICTORY,’ he wrote on the social media platform. Six rounds of IV Chemotherapy have been completed. I still have to go through 2 more rounds of chemo, but this is a milestone worthy of celebration.
‘It’s been almost 6 months since I heard the words ‘you have cancer’. Since then it has been almost nothing but bad news and setbacks. I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and today it is much brighter.
McManus spoke about the side effects of chemotherapy, saying that drinking water felt like a blade was cutting his throat.
‘Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way,’ he added, with a ‘heart emoji’.
His mother and partner supported him throughout his treatment, and Courtney, his partner, moved to Darwin to support him.
He said: ‘Family was more important to me and I know how difficult it is to have someone in your life. They mean more to me than they will ever understand.’
After six months and six rounds of chemotherapy, McManus posted a photo online ringing the bell in December 2023 on Instagram.
He captioned the picture thanking everyone who supported him along the way
McManus said he could have made it through without the support of his family, posting a picture of his girlfriend and mother.
Now that he has beaten the disease, McManus now has a new outlook on life and has raised nearly $20,000 for colon cancer research.
Cancer Australia estimates that 9.3 per cent of all new cancer cases are related to bowel cancer.
They add that more than 15,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease by 2023.
He said: ‘I am proud of the man this test has made me into.’
However, McManus says he is determined to get back on the rugby field.
‘There’s nothing like playing sports and competing and busting your guts out on the field for your mates. I can’t wait until I’m well enough to get back there.’
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