By Jennifer Bradbury

BARRY Hitchen is known as the Inspiration Man.

Three years ago at the age of 30, the father-of-two was given the devastating news that he had bowel cancer.

Since then he has most of his large intestine removed, had a colostomy and battled his way through four life threatening operations.

Yet he still works full time and when he's not with his family, he can be found out cycling or working out at Howe Bridge Sports Centre. Friends say he gets on with his life as if nothing has changed.

It was in September 1997 that lorry driver Barry was given the grim news that if he didn't have his large intestine removed he would die. It was covered in benign polyps, which were beginning to turn malignant.

He needed a major operation and was told he would spend the rest of his life with a colostomy bag.

"It didn't really sink in at all," says Barry, speaking from his home in Pilling Street, Leigh.

A nurse came to counsel him and offered to arrange a meeting with someone else who had had a colostomy.

"But you still can't imagine it happening to you. You always think cancer happens to someone else, or a friend of a friend. It's really hard to get your head around it."

The operation was carried out at Wigan's Albert & Edward hospital.

Barry recalls his feelings when he came out of the operation.

He was covered with tubes and drips, and there was a long bandage which stretched from his collar bone to his pubic bone.

He recalls: "And then I saw the bag. It was like being smacked in the face. It looked two times bigger than I'd been led to believe. It hit me that I was a physical freak."

Initially he feared that his wife, Wendy, would find the bag repulsive and leave him.

"We had been together for 16 years and thought we'd discussed everything but I couldn't help feeling that she'd go off me and find someone else.

"Then you think - can I cope with it?"

Initially depression set in, but eventually Barry came round, and started to look at life more positively.

He had the operation in September 1997 and returned to work in February 1998 but it was far too soon, and very nearly killed him.

In May that year he was driving along the M6 near to Liverpool when he was struck by an agonising pain.

It was so excruciating that he had to close his eyes. When he was able to open his eyes again he realised his wagon had swerved from the fast lane, across the whole carriageway, onto the hard shoulder.

He was admitted to hospital immediately where doctors discovered that Barry had suffered a double hernia and other complications but when he came round from the operation he was in even more agony.

Again Barry found himself back in theatre. The pain had been caused by a twisted bowel. This time doctors told Wendy that whether her husband pulled through or not was in the lap of the gods.

When he returned from the operation, he was still in pain, and went down to theatre yet again. He had three operations in the space of five days.

In the final operation doctors re-sited his colostomy.

This time there were no complications, and five weeks later he returned home.

But he'd lost a lot of weight. When he'd been admitted to hospital he weighed 12st 4lbs. When he came out he was just over 9st.

This time he took things easy. He looked after himself, built up his strength, and didn't return to work for six months.

"And touch wood everything's been fine since," he says with a grin.