VANCOUVER – Zed Dhalla knew time was running out.
His mother Yasmin laid in her hospital bed with a final message to him and his wife, which he still watches from time to time when he needs a dose of inspiration.
But in those final moments, he still couldn’t bring himself to share his secret. He had the same disease she did: cancer.
“I wanted her to pass with peace,” he shared, although he felt like she instinctually knew something was up.
With a smile, he remembered she asked him: “Is your wife feeding you properly?”
Diagnosed with cancer at 35
Zed’s energy, fitness aptitude and infectious positivity masked the hurdles he’s been forced to surmount.
On his first wedding anniversary back in 2025, Zed and his wife, Marlisa Madden, got the kind of news that made them wonder if the special milestone would be their last.
“I had changes in my bowel movements, blood in my stool, and fatigue,” he said
It was colon cancer. Zed was only 35.
“I think I probably cried more than him,” his wife added. “I think it helped bring us together as a team and face it together.”
That diagnosis came around the same time his mom passed away from ovarian cancer.
“I’m so grateful for the time that I had with her,” he said.
Zed has also been cherishing time with his father, Shabbir. The father-son duo appeared on “Amazing Race Canada” in 2017 and quickly became fan favourites, being dubbed “the bald and the beard.”
As they conquered challenges together, Shabbir was battling a personal one: his own fight with colon cancer.
At 33, Zed tried to stay ahead of it. But he said he was refused screening tools because was too young, despite his family history.
“I asked for a colonoscopy and I asked for screening,” he said. Their response?
“No.”
Two years later, Zed received his diagnosis.
Screening ages vary among provinces
Both Ontario and Prince Edward Island have reduced the screening age for colorectal cancer to 45. Last June, CTV News reached out to each province and territory that still lists its publicly funded screening age at 50.
None would commit to lowering the age, but British Columbia said it was reviewing its guidelines.
A report from the Canadian Cancer Society last March said more younger Canadians are being diagnosed with – and dying from – the disease.
“If you’re born in 1980 or beyond, you’re two or two-and-a-half times more likely to develop (colorectal) cancer before the age of 50 than your parents were at that age,” said Dr. Anu Ghuman, Zed’s surgeon.
Zed’s persistence ultimately led to a diagnosis, but he’s also developed his own fecal immunochemical test (FIT) to screen for colon cancer that can be delivered at home and self-administered.
It’s currently awaiting approval from Health Canada.
The person performing the test uses a tool to “poke their stool in six different places,” Dhalla explained.
“It reads exactly like a rapid (COVID-19) test: one line negative, two lines positive.”
Zed is sharing his cancer journey on social media, often using humour to talk about a topic that can be painful and sometimes uncomfortable.
It’s also caught the eye of actor Adam Sandler, with whom he recently got to shoot hoops with at the YMCA in Vancouver.
His prognosis is good. So is his dad’s.
But when the burdens of the world and his journey feel suffocating, he listens to the message his mom played from her hospital bed.
“Whether I’m physically here or not, I am with you. And I’m enjoying (life) with you.”
It’s a life that will soon include the couple’s first child. They’re expecting in March.
With files from CTV News’ Kamil Karamali and The Canadian Press
