A SINGER battled back from bowel cancer to perform at his own charity ball and raise £4,000 for the doctors who helped him.

Alex Ashe, 51, raised the money for Southend Hospital’s cancer unit by organising the charity ball as a thank-you for the care he received, which was led by Dr David Tsang, clinical director for oncology.

Alex, an estate agent by day, who lives in Shoebury with his partner, Anna, 46, said: “Dr David is a top fellow and tells it to you straight.

“The care I got was fantastic.”

The father-of-three decided to speak out about his experience to help increase awareness of bowel cancer, which affects almost 40,000 people each year.

The disease is very treatable if diagnosed early, but currently only nine per cent of UK patients are diagnosed at the earliest possible stage.

Alex was diagnosed with the disease nine days before Christmas 2006.

His symptoms had previously been dismissed as piles by his GP.

Alex said: “When they told me, it was a shock, but it was more a fear of the word ‘cancer’ because it’s a scary name.

“Other people were more scared than I was.

“There didn’t seem to be much point worrying about it, as there was nothing I could do.”

Treatment began with a very strong course of chemotherapy, but this was stopped after Alex developed chest pains, which left him close to cardiac arrest, with an emergency team called out to him twice after he collapsed.

Laser-precision radiotherapy was then carried out, and when Alex had recovered he underwent a complicated operation to remove the tumour from his bowel.

Determined to minimise the impact on his lifestyle, Alex has continued to work and tours across the UK as the frontman of his band Savana, helping maintain his positive outlook.

Alex, who has two grandchildren, said: “You just have to learn to get on with making adaptations. But I’m still here.”

Kayley Fletcher, community fundraising manager for the hospital, said: “Alex has provided wonderful support to the hospital and is a fantastic example of someone who has turned misfortune into something positive.”

For more information on bowel cancer, visit charity Bowel Cancer UK’s website at www.bowel canceruk.org.uk