NOTHING Levi Ziegelbauer faces on the rugby union field this year will frighten him as much as the day he was called into his doctor's office.

A member of the Cairns Thunder squad which participated in the new State Cup competition this season, Ziegelbauer was rocked in February when told he had bowel cancer.

For a 28-year-old fitness enthusiast who does not drink or smoke, the news came as a shock but confimed what he had already known – something was seriously wrong.

Ziegelbauer had dropped 15kg during pre-season training and, during the Thunder’s match against glamour Brisbane club Brothers in the state capital on February 21, did not take the field in the second half after vomiting during the break.

"Pre-season training was a lot harder than in previous years and I knew something was wrong so I started going to the doctor," he said.

"After losing 15kg when I’d normally lose five or seven, I knew something was pretty wrong.

"In that Brothers game, I was pretty crook before it, but didn’t tell anyone," he said.

"At halftime I was throwing up so I got taken off." Having already consulted medical opinion prior to the Brothers game, it was at first thought that Ziegelbauer had Chron’s disease but tests later revealed a tumerous cancer in his large intestine.

After receiving CT scans to ensure the cancer had not spread outside the large intestine, Ziegelbauer was booked in for surgery.

"They couldn’t tell if it had gone outside the bowel wall until the surgery, until they took (the cancer) out, so there was the possiblity of having chemo," Ziegelbauer said. "But, luckily, they’ve taken it out and rejoined the bowel"

Having made a full recovery from his surgery, a thankful Ziegelbauer is now counting down the days to when he can again lace up his footy boots.

The Thunder’s 2009 campaign is over but the five-eighth is hopeful of getting in a few games for Wanderers in the Cairns District Rugby Union premiership.

"I went to a (Wanderers) game a couple of weeks ago to watch the boys play and I was itching," he said. "It was pretty hard to sit on the sideline but there’s not much I can do about it."

Ziegelbauer knows too well that rest is vital to a successful recovery and he won’t risk returning to action too soon.

"I want to play as soon as I can but the doctor said it was pretty much ‘three months before you can start doing heavy stuff’ or weights or heavy training," he said.

"I’m hoping for a couple of games at the end of the year. Hopefully we might make the finals and get a few more games."

Ziegelbauer is thankful of the support he received from family, friends, and his Thunder teammates and his church congregation.

Ziegelbauer, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, believes his Mormon faith played a role in his successful surgery.

"I had a lot of people praying for me, which I think helped a lot," he said. "The cancer didn’t spread anywhere and everything went as it should."

He said the Thunder is a tight-knit squad and had been supportive of him during his recovery.

"They all say ‘hi’ and ask me how I’m going and I always text them every game to see if they win or lose," he said.

The Darwin-born playmaker moved to Cairns with his family when he was seven and cannot see himself moving again after a brief flirtation with club rugby in Canberra before homesickness and the cold weather prompted his return.

He said his cancer treatment, combined with a number of earlier injuries throughout his career, meant he was "only 24 or 25 in rugby years" and harbours a desire to play a full campaign with the Thunder next season.

A shy person by nature, Ziegelbauer agreed to tell his story in the hope that it would give hope and inspiration to others that find themselves in a similar situation.

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