Bills Story - Oesophageal/Stomach/Bowel Cancer
In May 2017 I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer (this is the food pipe from throat to stomach). This cancer is very serious & has a very poor life expectancy. My prognosis was explained to me and if they couldn’t operate my life expectancy was 6/12 months.
Luckily, I was eligible for the surgery, so I made the decision to have the chemo straight to avoid the possibility of the tumour breaking away in to my stomach which would meant they wouldn’t of been able to operate.
The chemotherapy ECX took 63 days & included lots of running about & hospital visits for all-day infusions.
On the 21st September I went to hospital with my wife, got dressed for my oesophagectomy surgery & calmly walked down to theatre, I got on to operating bed & the rest I can’t remember. After 9/10 hours I was transferred to high dependency ward where I spent the next 5 days with no food or water whilst my wounds healed, and I started physiotherapy.
This was very difficult as I had lots of tubes and buckets to carry around, so the with the help of the physio staff they walked me around the ward. After 5 days I was then transferred to another ward where I started to drink sips of water once they knew I wasn’t going to leak and they then got me to eat very soft food. Luckily only 11 days after surgery I was allowed home.
It was a tough recovery with lots of ups and downs but 18 months on from my surgery I am doing ok.
All of this was only made possible with the amazing help from the NHS staff and especially those at Heartlands hospital so now with the help and support of my family & friends I want to give something back.
To help us reach this target we will be arranging many fundraising events throughout the year including the GMFR 2019 & KAITY Kick Cancer Charity Ball 16th November 2019 Tickets will be £65 per person and include a 4 course meal and entertainment at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham. Please contact me at bill@churchhillss.com