Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
So here's what its all about :
Just before my 19th birthday on the 23rd Jan 1987 I was diagnosed with having Hodgkin's disease, this is now referred to as Hodgkin's lymphoma disease. It is not very common. About 1,400 cases are diagnosed in the UK each year. About 1 in every 200 cancers diagnosed is a Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The peak age for Hodgkin’s lymphoma is 15 to 29. It is the 3rd most common cancer in this age group. It is slightly more common in men than in women.
So after living life as a typical teenager and burning the candle at both ends ...the facts show that anyone whose immune system is not working properly may be more likely to develop a lymphoma. It was time to slow down....
At 2pm on 27th Jan 1987....my chemotherapy was about to begin... my life, my body and my frame of mind was about to change. The next nine months of treatment involved being intravenously fed what felt like a Molotov Cocktail of freezing drugs being pumped through my veins, alongside swallowing up to 15 tablets a day...
My body ballooned, my skin changed colour, all my hair fell out , I could only taste metal and I felt constantly sick. My Jeckle and Hyde personality evolved. All thanks to the Chemo !! I just couldn't get my head around the fact that how I had to be so sick to get better. But thanks to the reassurance and love of my family, my loved ones, closest friends and my workmates I managed to stay positive. This I truly know helps conquer all.
Over this period of treatment I still managed to get out for the weekends. My collection of hats and caps was second to none. Then one day I finally decided to hit my local pub "Gabriel’s" in Maidstone for the first time ever without a hat ! You know what, it wasn't so bad after all.Yeh, I had a few passing comments but actually I didn't give a S#*t ...I was recovering from Cancer and it felt Bloody Great !
The way I see it....Life is short, you get one crack at it, so don't waste it, seize the day and live life to the full. Looking back... I really wouldn't change a thing. Personal experiences are what make us who we are.
We can't always control the things that affect us but we can control the affect they have on us.
Without money raised via Charities for research and development in all areas for Cancer and Leukaemia I may not have been here now to share my story.
Finally, against all the odds and the text books and with the regime of chemo' that I had 23 years ago, no one has ever been able to say previously that they were proud parents like Lisa and I of our three very special beautiful children: Callum 18 yrs,Tamlin 16 yrs and Maeli 11yrs.
Every cloud has a silver lining. xxx
Please help someone else, so that they can tell their story in the future too.
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