James anderson was diagnosed with lung cancer after visiting his GP with pain and swelling in his knees.
"My symptoms were quite unusual for lung cancer. It began with a swelling on my knee, so I went to my GP, who X-rayed them. There was nothing structurally wrong, so he gave me some anti-inflammatory drugs.
"It didn’t seem to improve the situation. I have two small children, so I’m up and down on my knees quite a bit, and it was becoming quite painful.
"I went to see a rheumatologist, who gave me a complete examination and checked my knees and my fingers. She noticed that my hands had digital clubbing, which is a swelling of the ends of the fingers.
"As a precaution, she ordered a chest X-ray, because this condition could be a sign of chest problems, such as bronchitis. 15 minutes later she came back with the X-ray, which showed I had a huge shadow on my right lung.
"I was referred to a chest physician, who did some further tests. Those confirmed I had a syndrome called hyper pulmonary osteoarthritis (HPOA), where the lining of the bones becomes thick. It's often associated with non-small-cell lung cancer.
"80% of lung cancer cases are linked with smoking. I smoked 15 years ago, but I hadn’t for many years because of the children. I didn't fit the typical profile of a lung cancer sufferer who smokes 20-40 cigarettes a day.
"In the right lung you have three lobes. Surgeons cut a hole in my back and removed one of the lobes and basically joined it back together. They probably removed about a third of my right lung. But about four weeks after surgery, I was feeling better.
"I didn’t have any major side effects from chemotherapy, so I was quite fit and active. But radiotherapy made my oesophagus very inflamed and it was incredibly painful for me to swallow.
I am asking for this funding to take my wife and children away on holiday as they have been there for me through all this.
I thank you in advance.