Bowel cancer awareness & gratitude

This is me with the wonderful Shooting Stars nurses in Wrexham Maelor Hospital, each one of them angels helping and supporting patients, including me with cancer care.

Some of you will be shocked to hear I have had cancer - I was too when given the news in May 2022

I’m very fortunate as a person to be physically and mentally strong and stoic in my outlook. Humour has also played a big part in my cancer journey over the last 10 months or so.

‘It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!’ Rocky Balboa

I appreciate not everyone is like this and it’s others that need additional support. I am a very positive person in the face of adversity - I run with the mantra that there is always someone worse off than yourself. I have seen this and spoken with many patients on a weekly basis that have been told there is nothing more that can be done for them. Heartbreaking.

My Story: Could be quite long, bear with me……………..

My family have a dark history with cancer, particularly bowel cancer, over many many decades. I have witnessed my family members succumb to the disease at relatively young ages. Technology and knowledge has increased hugely and I’m sure if they had the same at their disposal then they would still be with us today.

Why our family though?

In 2018 my mother, after having cancer herself twice, underwent genetic screening. This testing confirmed that she had something called Lynch Sydrome.

What on earth is that!

Lynch syndrome is an inherited disorder that increases the risk of many types of cancer, particularly cancers of the colon and rectum. My mother has a variant of the MLH1 gene. The MLH1 gene is usually involved in repairing errors when DNA is copied and ready for cell division. Lots of errors and divisions can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and possibly cancer. ??

So, given this news I decided, for my young family, I needed to be tested to know for sure. There is a 50% chance that the disorder can been passed on from parents to children.?After testing it was confirmed that I too carried the MLH1 variant gene.

In time I will have to sit down with my children and explain the situation so they can make some big decisions for themselves about getting tested and screened.

Plan of Attack

Armed with this information I was referred to a specialist so that we could discuss a plan of monitoring and testing for me. It was agreed that every two years I would have a colonoscopy – I had my first in February 2019 and all was good. Feb 2021 was my next planned colonoscopy. Unfortunately, after chasing numerous times, the hospital could not perform the procedure due to ‘COVID’ and all the backlog.

The finding

Fast forward to April 2022 Easter break – we were on holiday, just outside Harrogate, Yorkshire and one early morning mid-way through the holiday I was in horrendous pain, emanating from my abdomen. The pain got too much and my wife and kids drove me to the nearest A&E in Harrogate. The staff there were amazing and I was seen straight away and given morphine; it was blissful – like a warm cup of tea passing through your body to remove the pain. A CT scan was performed shortly after and it showed that I had kidney stones on the move. What the scan also showed, more worrying, was a thickening of my colon wall ………… I know what this is I thought.?

On return home I passed the kidney stone - Ouch!

The following week I managed to get an emergency colonoscopy in Wrexham Maelor. I knew what to expect from my first experience and this time I chose to have pain relief – I didn’t last time and for anyone going for one I would recommend the pain relief. Definitely have the pain relief!

During the procedure a 32 inch monitor was pushed right in front of my face and showed my insides (weird sensation); there lurking at the end of the tunnel was the mass – approximately 50-60mm in size. An ugly cancerous tumour. Surgery was required.

Surgery

In July surgeons operated on me to remove the tumour and a section of my bowel. Given my Lynch Syndrome I was told by the specialists I was at high risk of it returning – gulp!

I recovered really quickly after surgery, although it did feel like a tractor had passed over my stomach. I was out after 4 days.

The service I received in hospital, once I was in the system, was unbelievable. The people were incredibly caring and compassionate.

Biopsy

So, with the ugly tumour out it was time for the specialist oncology team to undertake a biopsy of it and the surrounding tissues to see at what Stage the cancer was at.

Results back and Stage 3 was the result – what does this mean?, well it means that the tumour was advanced, fast growing and may have spread to the surrounding tissue and lymph nodes. It did and 6 lymph nodes out of 45 had cancer cells. Given this news it was agreed that a programme of 6 month intensive infusion chemotherapy every 2 weeks was required.

Chemotherapy

In early September 2022 I was sent to Bodelwyddan hospital for a PICC (Peripherally inserted central catheter) line insertion – In my case this was a 45cm long catheter tube of sorts that was inserted in to my right bicep and in to a vein which went to a larger vein near my heart. This procedure was undertaken to administer the ‘poison’ to me; a concoction made up of platinum, to damage the DNA of cancer cells and prevent them from multiplying.

A CT scan was undertaken on 22nd February…………the waiting is the scary bit……………..

A week or so later the oncology specialist gave me the news that the scan was good and the chemotherapy appeared to have done the job.?Pheeeeewwwwwww.

6 months and 12 sessions later and here I am celebrating getting through the chemotherapy programme. Yes there was ups and downs and not so nice side effects but I’m still kicking, breathing and laughing and ever so grateful.

This particular battle has seemingly been won but I will be ready for any further battles along the way.

My message is to raise awareness of cancer and for people to get checked out (those at age 40 and above, seems to be a pattern), particularly those with a family history. Do not leave anything to chance – it’s potentially life-saving. I was asymptomatic so had no symptoms whatsoever. Thank god for those kidney stones, they saved my life! ?

If anyone wishes to talk about bowel cancer or anxiety issues surrounding cancer surgery and therapies then please do get in touch. It’s a worrying time and I understand.

Thank you to my family and close friends that have continued to support me and talk to me openly about my journey.

My heartfelt thanks go to the wonderful NHS nurses, specialists, surgeons and support teams including the Shooting Stars staff, who without I wouldn’t be here to write this.

Remember, you are not alone and there are some wonderful people out there that can help with listening to your concerns and provide emotional and supportive care.

Peace out

Paul