Thank you for visiting the #TeamStreet 2017 Fundraising Page which marks my 10th year of remission from Leukaemia

I am funding all these challenges myself so every penny you donate will go directly to the charity and form part of the annual target of £30 million required to fund this vital research into Beating Blood Cancer.

By a sad coincidence my Grandfather died from Leukaemia in 1977 when I was just 13, but it was my own diagnosis of the rare form known as 'Hairy Cell Leukaemia' in 2007 which really inspired me to get fully involved with the Charity.

In 2009 together with my wife Susan and group of friends we re-established the Maidstone Branch of Bloodwise and I currently hold the post of Chairman.

I know that without the sterling work of Bloodwise over the past 56 years I would not be writing this story today and enjoying my long lasting remission.

Had I been diagnosed some 30-40 years earlier there were limited treatments available and my prognosis would undoubtedly have been less than positive!

Clearly my personal survival owes a great deal to the work and fundraising efforts of those before me. Hence you will appreciate my appetite to further help this great charity with it's aim to Beat Blood Cancers.

If you can spare a 'few quid' to sponsor me, (yet again!) I shall be eternally grateful.

Paul x

I want to continue to support Bloodwise because together, we can help make the world a better place for blood cancer patients.

https://bloodwise.org.uk/blog/pauls-story-0

My diagnosis
It started in 2006 with me I visiting my GP on four separate occasions to inform her that I felt unwell. I couldn't really put a finer point on it, just that I felt unwell. Initially my GP thought I might be suffering from stress (who isn't these days!) so other than some advice on that topic no further tests were carried out.
What made me realise I was really ill was the Christmas period and then New Year’s Eve 2006/2007. I couldn't finish a glass of wine – decent wine at that – so I knew it was serious! I hastily took myself off to the Doctors on the 2nd of January 2007 and insisted that some tests were carried out. As luck would have it I was able to have a blood test that very day.
The following day my GP tracked me down to inform me that my results showed that I was seriously deficient in iron, and "did I have Medical Insurance, as we need to get you to a Consultant right away".
A few days later I visited my Consultant who re-tested my blood and then slipped into the subsequent conversation: "the trouble with these types of Leukaemia is........................................................................................

Imagine my surprise... as I had been thinking a few decent steaks would solve the matter. I had quite a bit of knowledge of Leukaemia as my Grandfather sadly died from it in 1977 when I was a teenager so I immediately knew that the treatment was not going to be much fun.

I was 42 years of age at the time of my diagnosis. It was one of the rare forms known as Hairy Cell Leukaemia, which (unbeknown to me at that point) turns out to be one of the forms of Blood Cancer that research has been hugely successful with.

Undergoing chemotherapy, and my darkest moments
As my blood count was so low I duly started treatment within a matter of days. I was prescribed a combination of Chemotherapy (Cladribine) and a non-chemo drug called Rituximab which is now more commonly available, but at the time was not licensed for use in this combination. Within days the chemo had started to do its thing, and I was somewhat bed-ridden if not totally so. I then experienced the usual complications of infections, high temperatures, nausea, and all manner of other side effects from the concoction of drugs I ingested daily. Indeed, I remember 'enjoying' my 43rd Birthday in hospital hooked up to a bag full of chemo for the day!

Over a period of the next few weeks and months I had a few scary moments where I needed urgent hospitalisation for platelet transfusions etc and some of those stays in hospital were, I have to say, my darkest moments.

Facing blood cancer as a family
I believe now that one of the main issues with any form of serious illness is the Psychological effect it has upon you. We all like to think we are invincible and to a degree take life for granted – so it's times like these that shake you to your core. As a Husband and Father of children – who were 17 and 14 at the time – you like to feel that you are the strong one who can handle everything for your family. Yet there you are... weak and feeble, feeling vulnerable. It also places a great strain on your closest family members, as they are the ones who are fit enough to worry and have all the running around and nursing to do when you are at home for extended periods. And the phone never stops ringing with well wishers, which as nice as it sounds, can get wearing on your spouse as they have to relate the same updates over and over.

To help ease this burden we set up an email system to keep friends and family informed on a weekly basis as to my progress which I know many of them felt was a great idea as it saved them from bothering Sue.

Making a full recovery, and enjoying life to the full
My treatment turned out to be a terrific success and after a couple of months rest period I endured a second course of Chemo/Rituximab to 'gold plate' my initial course, as my Consultant put it. This second time around my body tolerated the drugs more robustly and I sailed through entering full remission only 5 months after diagnosis.

Looking back and knowing what I now know about many of the 137 forms of Blood Cancer I realise that I was somewhat fortunate to be diagnosed with such a treatable form of the disease. And I know for a fact that had it not been for the research funded by Bloodwise over the past 56 years I would not be here enjoying life to the full.

I shall continue to fundraise for Bloodwise until we finally Beat Blood Cancer!

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