When the doctor told me I had cancer I didn't fall apart, in fact it didn't really hit me till much later. For 45 years I had been relatively healthy, although I hadn't always been a healthy eating or exerciser. My first cancer was diagnosed as Hodgkins Lymphoma which is a cancer of the Lymph system, and I was at a loss as to what the hell that was! “It's the system of the body that fights infection”, the doctor replied to my question, I always thought that the white corpuscles in the blood did that. “Well they do as well, but major diseases that attack the body are protected by a series of glands connected by a canal system”. Lymph nodes travel through the system and attack any foreign bodies in the system; they are a kind of SAS soldier troop working 24/7. For some unknown reason these nodes can suddenly turn the other way, instead of protecting the body they start grouping together and stealing the body's protein for nourishment, this is what a tumour is in the lymph system.
Cancer cells in the lymph system (blue)
My first tumours were in my neck, I had a large tumour about the size of a pigeon egg and 8 shirt button sized ones. I had to have a mask made of lead and rubber layers with holes in it; I had to lay on a machine table whilst the radiographer bombarded the area with radiation. The holes allowed the rays through to the infected parts and the lead and rubber protected the good tissue. Each session took around 1 minute, yes a whole 60 seconds with no drama or machines going `blip blip` around me. To be honest with you I was a little disappointed that all those years of watching Emergency Ward 10, Dr Kildare, Angels and Holby City I didn't get the drama with the disease.
My second attack of cancer 2 years later was a bit more severe, it came back in the form of a tumour in the globe behind my eye. I was given a chemo-therapy tablet at first in an attempt to kill it off. All the tablets did was to arrest it and slow down the growth, but it didn't kill it off, that was what the tumour was planning for me! I had to have another biopsy to determine what grade it was, that's what a status symbol cancer has become, it is graded low or high. This time it was high grade from the previous low grade, which is unusual as Hodgkins usually comes high and goes low. The oncologist went for radiotherapy again and thankfully it worked, again.
Two years went by and the bloody thing started up again, this time it was going hell for leather to get me. I had a grapefruit sized tumour under my shoulder, a golf ball tumour in my spleen and a canary egg one in my lungs. It was very aggressive and had gone from conventional weaponry to nuclear status. This time the clinic called in the SAS, Mossad, The C.I.A. and James Bond to tackle the problem; well it was the end of the world for me if the arch villain wasn't stopped this time. Within 10 days of the discovery of the tumour I had all my tests and was ready for my first chemo-therapy session. It was a piece of cake, what was all the fuss about I thought. I flew to New York 2 days later, determined not to let the cancer dictate to me and I just about made it through the 3 days I was there. If it hadn't been for actor Michael Greco who I went with, it would have been much worse. The next chemo session came 3 weeks later and my body and mind deteriorated with each of the following 6 treatments, but I did recover almost fully within a year.
I had started to make a film about my cancer treatment on the second one, and continued with the hospitals help to film this experience as well. The end result was a cure for me and to date I have been clear for 5 years now, hopefully the chemo has flushed away any rogue cells. The film was finally completed 3 years later after I got funding from my new career as a writer, a best selling writer I have to add. Getting cancer 3 times in 6 years was a big wake up call for me, I appreciate the chance I have been given in life and have changed my lifestyle for the better. The film is available to anyone who wants a copy of it, it is 73 minutes long and has been endorsed by many stars from Renee Zellweger to Uri Geller and recently Tom Chambers who plays Dr Sam Strachen in Holby City, Sam has Hodgkins in the drama series. Cut and paste the following link for the 8 minute promo on You Tube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sLXfcLvSH8 I also have a very useful web site to assist people in keeping a look out for lumps, it is simple and something you can do every time you bathe or shower. That web site is at Look 4 Lumps finally my personal career web site is at Seanboru if you would like a free of the film please contact me via the web site and I will gladly send you one. Please leave a message on the guest book.
