Rob grew up on the family property Tarcoola, went to the local Dalton primary school, and even after finishing school at Orange and moving to Sydney for work, always came back to the big skies and wide, open space of the Gunning district.

And then, in the space of a week in late March, Rob went from thinking he was a fit, healthy 38-year-old to being diagnosed with incurable, stage-four bowel cancer.

And the little town of Gunning is gathering on Saturday night to "Kick Bowel Cancer", to raise money and awareness for Bowel Cancer Australia, while supporting Rob and his family.

Rob will be just finished his fourth round of chemotherapy as he travels to Gunning for the night, in an event organised by his sister Kelly, brother Luke and sister-in-law Theresa, with the support of his parents Kim and Eric, who all still farm in the area.

"Our first choice of name for the night was Gunning Bowel Movement so we thought as a PR thing Kick Bowel Cancer was probably a better option," Kelly said, with a laugh.

It's clear this family is tackling Rob's cancer diagnosis with hope and strength and laughter, when it's needed.

Rob is optimistic too. He and wife Laura were married only a month ago in defiance of his diagnosis.

"Medical opinion, as it stands today, as treatment stands, is that the cancer is probably not curable but Laura and I are very hopeful of overcoming that at some point," he said.

Gunning, which lies north of Canberra and has fewer than 500 people in the town but closer to 2300 in the shire, has rallied with some enormous displays of generosity. Items to be auctioned on the night include a corporate box at the Bledisloe Cup at ANZ Stadium in August worth $11,500.

Kelly said they wanted to raise money for research into bowel cancer to prevent other tragedies affecting other families.

"Rob is very strong and independent and he will definitely be a fighter in the whole process," she said.

Rob says there has been a transition in himself in wanting to raise awareness of bowel cancer and of urging people to seek medical help when there is even a hint of a symptom.

"At first, I was a little bit reticent or reluctant to be the centre of that attention but that was in the context of not having my head around this very serious illness," he said.

"As time's gone on, I've got a very different view. I'd rather people speak about these things and raise awareness.

"Honestly, the support from people, whether you know them very well or don't know them very well, has been just lovely. It makes a big difference to my own positivity and how I approach this.

"And I've had that not just from the Gunning community and my family but my work and my other groups of friends.

"That's one of the great things I've taken out of all this - people are really, really awesome when given the opportunity."

Rob, who lives in Rozelle and is a finance director for software company CA Technologies, had always eaten healthily and been active, playing sport including in the centre for Petersham Rugby Union.

He experienced some diarrhoea in January and February but no other symptoms to show he might have bowel cancer. There was no history of it in his family. He went to a GP and asked to have a colonoscopy, even though the doctor did not recommend it.

"I was quite insistent about being proactive and ruling out anything that was a problem," he said.

That resulted in a tumour being discovered in his lower bowel and he was advised to have it removed.

"At that point, they were quite optimistic they could remove it through surgery but when they went into do the surgery a week later, they found the cancer had metastasised and spread to my peritoneal cavity that contains the small and large intestines," Rob said.

"It's basically a whole lot of little cancer cells that had spread throughout that whole cavity which caused it to be a stage-four cancer.

"So, I pretty much went, over the course of a week, from not expecting anything at all to going straight to a stage-four cancer which was a shock, obviously."

His surgery did not go ahead and the treatment turned instead to chemotherapy to contain and hopefully reduce the cancer. He is still working full-time and determined to remain positive, with early indications the chemotherapy is having an effect.

"So, apart from going through chemo, which makes me feel pretty ill, I'm actually pretty fit and healthy, which is good. And  part of my plan is to stay as healthy as possible," he said.

He and Laura were married on May 6 in Sydney at a registry office, and took some gorgeous photos in the grounds of Sydney University. A big part of the day were Rob's daughters from a previous relationship, Emily, 16, and Madison, 14.

The whole family is determined to be positive.

"They know things are serious but the plan is to get on with things. Life goes on," Rob said.

And his message to others who may be putting off a bowel cancer check or reluctant to ask for help if they feel something may be amiss: just do it.

"I would say, 'Just be proactive and seek treatment'," he said. "If I hadn't, I might not have had the months I've had or the hope of more."