Aftermarket September 2022

Below: John Fountain who documented her struggle with bowel cancer via her podcast series, and highlighted the importance of having regular checks for cancer and other illnesses and acting on the outcome, has started a national conversation, and many people have been encouraged to share their own stories. Long-term followers of Top Technician will recognise the name John Fountain. The Yorkshire based diagnostic expert has been a regular fixture in the semi-finals and finals of the competition in recent years. In light of the story of Dame Deborah James, he got in touch with Aftermarket to share his own story, and hopefully inspire some fellow technicians to give their health and well-being more than a cursory thought. John said: “Two years, ago, I turned 60. Every two years after you are 60, you get something called a FIT test, which checks for bowel cancer. Mine came back after three months, saying I needed to see a doctor. Basically, I failed the test. I had an appointment after, and it was explained that there could be lots of things that caused the failure.” He continued: “Fortunately, and selfishly, all the time I've been self-employed, I've paid for private medical cover. I left the NHS system and went to a private hospital for a colonoscopy. All this happened during December 2019 and January 2020.” “The first surgeon said they had found a polyp, and removed it. This was pre-cancerous apparently. The system had worked and I remember his words very vividly; ‘Hopefully this is your only brush with bowel cancer’, but he wanted me to make another appointment for another look at my bowel in general. “Then of course we get COVID-19 and it ended up being the end of 2021 before I could get a hospital to look at me, and that I felt happy going to the hospital. It was at that point that they found a small lesion in the lower part of my bowel, and they tried to do a biopsy. I then got thrown back to the NHS in York and they did three different types of scans to see what had happened, how big it was and if there was anything else. In the meantime, they did something called a flexible sigmoidoscopy, where they check the colon, but the operator of that equipment could not get it out, and this meant that I would need to have surgery. “I ended up under the care of Professor Peter Sagar, who is an expert in this area, and teaches all over the world. He requested all my scans, and what I had. He thought he could get it out with surgery. Afterwards, he told me it was isolated to one small area and had not travelled any further.” Message John has been lucky, partly because of the system that is in place, but also because he acted on the warnings he received: “The system is good. It looks at everybody who gets to 60 and rather than ignore the FIT test or the results like so many people do, I've followed the procedure, got help and hopefully got cured. However, so many people ignore things like this. I do think that's probably what happened to Dame Deborah James. Hers was caught late and was incurable when diagnosed, but generally there are symptoms that people often ignore.” Beyond the specifics of bowel cancer, John believes that this is a message that not enough technicians pay heed to when it comes to the overall health risks that come with working in this industry. “Technicians often don't really take 10 AFTERMARKET SEPTEMBER 2022 BIG ISSUE www.aftermarketonline.net as much care of themselves as they should. “They will get dermatitis from working without gloves. They will damage their backs lying down on the ground, or lifting too much weight and from there the list goes on. I'm guilty of the same thing as many other technicians. I didn't have the right protection when working. When I started, there were no rubber gloves, and now I have to really look after my hands. Technicians neglect themselves and by the time they think about their health, they can't carry on doing the hard stuff. We would lift gearboxes out 20 years ago. Now we have proper gearbox jacks, but you think you can do it when you're young and fit. I've had a hernia because of that. I've had that hernia come back slightly. It was repaired when I had surgery six weeks ago. The number of technicians that have hernias is huge.” Did John think that the industry needs to think about these things a bit more? In the end, it comes down to money: “The general public expect their car to be mended for next to nothing, and many employers are battling against not making enough money to buy the right equipment.” On why he came forward, John concluded: “If it makes one person go to the doctor, and they come through and get saved, then it’s worth it. For what I had, the five-year survival rate is 92%. It is the same with anything. If you have a persistent leg-ache, get to the doctor. You might have bone cancer. Don’t assume it is just that you have been on a concrete floor for four hours.” Self-care Rachel Clift, Health and Wellbeing Director at Ben observed: “People working in the automotive industry are trained to look for and resolve faults. Inspecting vehicles, servicing them, checking for imperfections; scratches, dents or mechanical issues. Taking care of our vehicles, working hard to reduce wear and tear and keeping them in top condition so they can keep running for longer. But do industry people do the same in how they look after themselves? “When it comes to self-care, those working in the automotive industry are among the most neglectful. Happy to give vehicles a thorough MOT, but their own physical and mental health doesn’t get the same care and attention.”