Whilst everyone has had a challenging year in 2020, my dear friend Gordon Pearce has really had a hard time, this is his story and the reason we are taking on this challenge to raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Trust, who have been brilliant at helping him and his friends and family when he really needed it plus countless other families who go through similar experiences.  Please read the details of what he has gone through with his cancer treatment this year – he would not have written this but is happy for us to share to help raise important funds for such an important charity.  He has been inspirational in the way he has handled the whole experience, remaining positive throughout the whole ordeal (which is not over yet), continuing to work where he can, getting on with his treatment and despite all the horrible side effects, not moaning about his situation or letting the negative nature of what has happened to him dampen his spirits. 

When we told Gordon about the challenge we wanted to take on and asked permission to raise funds using his story and experience, he was not only fully supportive but keen to get involved.  We are planning to take on this challenge at the end of April and Gordon will be the star member of our team, he hopes to regain his health and fitness in order to climb with the rest of the team.  If this is not possible, he will be there to drive the minibus, lift our spirits and apply blister plasters to probably all of us.

We will be climbing the highest 3 mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in 3 days, which is called the 3 peaks challenge and hopefully raising 2 pounds for every metre climbed.  Starting at Ben Nevis in Scotland, Ben Nevis is 1,345m of climbing and it’s suggested to allow 6-8 hours.  After this has been done, the team will need to drive to The Lake District ready for Scarfell Pike the next morning.  Scafell Pike is 978M of climbing and an avg walking time of 5-6hrs, on completion back on the road to Snowdon for the final Mountain in Wales the next day.  Snowden is 1,085M and an avg time of 5-7 hours depending on route.  The total walking distance is 23 miles (37km) and the total ascent is 3064 metres (10,052ft).  The team is made up of myself (Kate Bristow), Gordon ‘the legend’ Pearce, Leighton Clack, Adam Giles, Phil Selby, Louis McCalla and Paul Walsh.

This is Gordon’s story so far, which will be similar to lots of others who have to go through equally horrendous ordeals when battling this horrible disease:

He called me in August to tell me he had Throat cancer, masked by the big beard he had grown in the spring lockdown, Gordon had 2 lumps in his throat that when tested revealed his diagnosis.  Further scans and tests revealed the cancer had spread to his tonsils, the surgeons removed these straight away, which for those who have ever had tonsil problems, know, is a painful recovery.  Luckily the doctors came up with a treatment plan that will eliminate the cancer, although to achieve this, the treatment was intense. 

Before Gordon could start his 6 week treatment plan, he had to have part of his jaw removed and his back teeth on both sides.  This was a preventative measure as the targeted radiotherapy would almost certainly perish these areas.  This surgery had to be completed before the start of the chemotherapy and radiotherapy, another rough recovery.  He also knew he wouldn’t be able to eat or swallow very well during his treatment phase so a feeding tube would need to be fitted.  The ideal would have been to have this placed straight into his abdomen but due to COVID restrictions this option was removed and instead a nasal tube would be fitted.

The 6 week treatment period consisted of daily visits to the cancer centre in Oxford Hospital, where Gordon would receive either large doses of Chemotherapy, targeted Radiotherapy or some days both in the same day.  For the doctors to target the throat tumours accurately, a plastic mask had to be made that must be worn during treatment to prevent Gordon from moving. This is a very claustrophobic procedure where you are bolted to a table to prevent you from moving whilst they pull a hot plastic mould over your face and neck (you can see the mask in the picture) until it fits.  Gordon would have to have this procedure repeated a few weeks later as he lost so much weight in his first couple of weeks the mask had to be re-made.

People would normally associate chemotherapy with severe sickness and hair loss.  Gordon was unable to be sick due to the delicate nature of his throat so had to be given strong anti-sickness meds.  One side effect he did suffer with during the 6 week treatment was severe hiccups which prevented him from getting proper sleep some days.  He also lost his sense of taste, by this stage he was unable to eat any foods and was prescribed high calorie/protein shakes.  Gordon did really well at trying to drink the shakes in the early part of his treatment but unfortunately he lost too much weight too quickly and was admitted to hospital where he had his nasal feeding tube fitted and received treatment to treat his dehydration and weight loss.

After the six weeks of treatment, Gordon started to really feel the physical effects of the radiotherapy, his neck was covered in burns that had to be treated carefully to stop the burns from blistering and breaking the skin.  He also had to receive help breathing with a nebuliser at home due to the swelling in his throat becoming so severe. He is still healing from his treatment and I will keep this page updated which how things progress.  

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