Lee Hunter's Fundraising Page
Lee Hunter is raising money for THE CHRISTIE CHARITY
“Lee Hunter's Fundraising Page”
on 24 January 2009
Story
In April 2008 I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer, and I'm still here to tell the tale thanks to the fantastic work that all the Doctors and Staff at Christies did for me.
2008 was one of the most emotional years for us and we were glad to see the back of it. However we did see the arrival of our twin girls Evie & Gracie so it wasn't all bad.
It all started late Feb, my wife Rachel was pregnant and only due mid April, she was having pains so we went to hospital, later that night the Babies were here, after an emergency section due to a placenta abruption, so all three are lucky to be alive. The babies were in special care for 2 weeks, and in this time I had a pain in my testicle, so in between feeding and visiting the babies in hospital, and taking our 2 and a half year old to A&E for having a sky high temperature, I decided to take myself off to A&E as it got to the stage where I was struggling to walk. I was seen in hospital by a doctor who did a few different tests, and came to the conclusion it must be an infection. At this point there was no lump and very little swelling so slight I couldn't tell. I had been given antibiotics, and told to take them for 4 weeks. The day after there was no pain, even though the doctor had said it may take a few weeks for the pain to go, but there was nothing. The week after same pain again, so I went back to A&E as this time it felt worse, I had been taking the antibiotics but the pain had got worse this time after disappearing so quickly the week before. I saw an oncologist this time as the doctor wanted a second opinion. I was told it was probably still infection but as to why the pain had gone was a little strange. I was booked for an ultrasound scan, just as a precaution I was told men my age can be prone to tumors and cancer . However he didn't think it was a tumor or cancer, as normally there is no pain associated with either. This scared me a little as it was the first time it had even entered my head, a tumor let alone Cancer. The 1st scan didn't show anything definite, but by this time my testicle had swollen and felt very hard so I knew it wasn't right. I had to wait another two weeks to see if the antibiotics had worked. After the second scan now 6 weeks, I was told it seemed it was tumor as there was no change. I hadn't prepared for anything like this, I sat there and said, well what will I have to do, thinking he'd say drink this or take this and you'll be ok in a week. He just turned to me and said we'll have to remove it.
I was then referred to an oncologist in Leigh Infirmary. Me and Rach saw two doctors who described what was going to happen. The thing that was scaring us more and more is the way they kept talking about Cancer, everything was revolving around that, as if they were saying, we don't know for definite but were pretty sure its cancer. Again this thought had only briefly crossed my mind back in A&E so this was a big shock.
I was then admitted for surgery to remove the testicle (and yes there was lots of jokes at this point), We then had the longest two weeks ahead of us and constant phone calls to the hospital at Leigh to get the results. We were told that if we were to get a letter from Christies, not to panic but it meant it was cancer, and they may contact me before the consultant had chance. I went in to see the consultant at Leigh who confirmed a Teratoma Tumor (cancer). The consultant seemed a little phased when he told us the diagnosis as we didn't really give a reaction, the way we had been talked to, and things that were said previously, were all preparing us for it being Cancer, so all we wanted to know was What's Next and how do we beat it.
I was asked to go to Christies for further tests. Initial tests showed that it had spread to my lung and my lymph nodes and I would need a 9 week course of chemotherapy called BEP. Everything I had been told leading up to this point had been positive, my consultant said to me before my surgery I haven't lost a patient to it yet, and I don't intend to now. Every consultant and Nurse I saw told me "this is a curable disease" and the success rate was very high. I was asked did I have any worries, at this point my worries had already happened, I had cancer, and it had spread, but the obvious one now was am I going to die. No one could answer that only tell me how good of a chance I had, so that would do for me. For some reason I was glad I was having the chemo, even before I knew it had spread. The thought of even the slightest little bit left floating around terrified me, I wanted to throw something back at it to make sure it was gone, as it happened it was still lying around so I was ready for the fight. With a positive state of mind my Family and Friends, and a few bags of poisonous chemicals, I was going to beat this.
By September, a week before my birthday I had finished My treatment. I had no hair (some may say I had little to start with) I couldn't taste things properly, I felt like crap and I faced another string of tests, but I didn,t care as I was still here and had come through with good results. I now had the longest 6 week wait ever, to see if the Cancer had gone, I had another CT scan then had to wait another week for the results.
The News was good news what they had seen in my lung had gone and my lymph nodes were returning back to normal, I had beat it and fingers crossed that's the end of it.
All I look forward to now is the regular checkups and I hope and pray they send me away just for me to return for my next check up. Not a day passes where I'm not terrified of what may of happened, or still could, every little ache and pain I get scares me, but the only peace of mind I get is that If I have any worries or concerns I can pick up the phone and contact someone at Christies.
During my treatment, I had constant support from my Family and Friends even my work were extremely supportive, and of course we have the 3 girls to keep us busy, so I didn't have time to be ill. We joke that even though we were going to Christies on a very serious note, it was the only time we got on our own for a bit of peace and quiet, some time to spend together. Along with my Family keeping me busy, I also have another passion, Land Rovers This is where I spend all of my free time even through my treatment I still made an effort to attend club events, competitions and to get out for a drive with my friends. I didn't want the treatment or disease to stop me, If I could carry on I would for as long as I could. And I did. I obviously had to take it easy and couldn't do as much as id of liked, there was always the danger of catching a cold, cutting myself or overdoing, this would of delayed the chemotherapy and put me in a bad way.
I wanted to raise money for Christies, and thought of different was of doing this, I wanted to involve the Land Rover Club I'm a member of and of course do something Land Rover orientated. After a few ideas I cam across an article in a magazine while in hospital, its one similar to one I had read a few years ago about driving across Morecambe bay, Its something I've fancied doing for a long while, so what better opportunity than to raise money for a very good cause. I'm sure you all know some one who has been affected by the dreaded BIG C, whether they were treated at Christies or not the work they do for Cancer research and the amount of people they treat I feel they deserve all the help they can get.
So what a group of 8 of us in 4 Land Rover Discovery's Intend to do is drive across Britain's most dangerous Byway. Morecambe bay is notorious for its quicksand and fast-moving tides. We will enlist the help and expertise of a Cedric Robinson the official Queens guide to the sands he knows every inch of the bay so we should be in good hands.
We are looking to cross on the 17th of Aug 09 at 3pm or 27th Aug 09 at 10:30 depending on the weather. We will be travelling from Kents Bank Station across and down the bay then travelling back up to Arnside, arriving at White Creek a small bay at New Barns Farm a Caravan Park. We will then cross back across to Kents bank covering approx 16 miles. This is all dependent on the weather and may be changed, but hopefully we will get it done on the 17th, I will post on the web site if it’s not going ahead on this date. Anyone is welcome to come up and watch us sink (I mean cross successfully) probably best from Arnside in the bay, the grid reference for OS Maps is SD 438 774
Please donate, its for a good cause, I see myself as one of the extremely lucky ones who has been fixed, They won't know if I'm cured, only time will tell this, but at the moment I'm good and its gone lets hope it stays this way. So this is my way of saying Thankyou to the people at Christies, With the help of the staff at Christies they can help save lives or at least make the quality of life for the unfortunate ones that bit better. I have recently lost Family and Friends to Cancer, this makes what I have been through even worse as you can see the devastation it brings, but through research done on this terrifying disease, hopefully some day it can be stopped.
Thankyou
Lee Hunter
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JUST TO LET EVERY ONE KNOW, WE CAN'T DO IT TODAY. MONDAY 17th. DUE TO BAD WEATHER . WE WILL RETRY ON THURS 27th. SORRY TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME OFF TO WATCH.
Another disappointing update. Due to the rain, and the fact they have put Cumbria on Flood watch, we are unable to cross. I will try to get more dates next week and as soon as I know I will update. Thanks.
Just Spoke to Cedric, (again!)
It looks like we are not doing it this year. He hasn't been able to get across with walkers due to the damage that the river has made. He described the river bank as a cliff where we would want to cross, the walkers he has took across have been a different route a lot shorter, but its not what we are looking for, he said as the river would be one of the highlights for us and its just to difficult to cross. He offered to take us just on to the sands but I think this would be a disappointment as we want to cross the bay.
He has asked me to ring him early next year, and we can look to do it in April. I've asked if its possible to do it on a Weekend due to the length of time we've had to wait, as long as we can get it done before the walking season starts he say's it should be okay.
Just have to wait and see from now, but at least we know we don't have to keep changing our plans (until next April) and we can raise more money.
Ill keep you posted.
Lee.
Hi, just an update.
Its now been two years since I was first diagnosed, I went for one of my 4 monthly checkups last Fri (23/4/10), hopefully I won't hear anything from Christies, and ill just return in another 4months (no news is good news is what they tell me) I'm still terrified of every ach pain twinge that I get ( and I get lots haha) but as long as I keep going for the checkups and I know I can ring if I'm concerned this is what helps me through. Also Our 3 girls are doing great (apart from Holly with Chickenpox) but Evie and Gracie are now 2 and keep us well on our toes I can feel myself having to clear out the shed so I can go hide away, but I can't be doing all that bad as two weeks ago me and a friend Simon completed a 26mile walking Marathon around Manchester city centre through the night. We came in, in just under 8hrs not bad considering the furthest we had trained was 13miles. I didn't push for sponsors for this event as I felt a bit cheeky as I still haven't done the Crossing yet. Which will bring me to the second reason for this update in a mo. I'd just like to Thank everyone who has donated on this page so far, and of course those who have sponsored me on my other quest. http://www.sponsormetoshine.org/leehunter3
Anyway, we now have ANOTHER date for the crossing of Morecambe Bay. We will be going from Humphrey head which is a little further south than Kents Bank (os ref SD 392 740 ). We will be setting off at 3:30pm on the 10th May 2010, obviously this again is weather permitting so fingers crossed. We will then follow the original route across the river down the bay slightly before travelling up to Arnside, White Creek a small bay at New Barns Caravan Park (os map ref SD438 774 post code LA5 0BN I think) If any one wanted to come and see us this would be the best place to see us come across. We will have 10mins or so at White Creek before returning to Humphrey Head.
So Thank you to all who have sponsored, have a look at my other page, or forward it on to anyone that hasn't sponsored me! Sorry it's been a long time coming but I've beat Cancer I don't fancy trying to beat Mother Nature and the Irish Sea, especially in a 18 year old Land Rover.
If for some reason we can't cross on this Day ill post it on here to let you know.
Thanks Again Lee.
Well at long last it Finally happened.
Sorry it's been so long for an update, but this past week or so have been really busy.
We did cross Morecambe bay on Monday the 10th May 2010. The weather all be it a little chilly was good, it was nice and dry by the time we had got up to grange over sands as it had been raining slightly when we had left home.
We were due to cross at 3:30pm but on our way up there Cedric had advised that he anticipated we would have to wait until 4:30pm due to the rising tide. He said that he had been out the day before and the water was a lot deeper and faster than it should of been at that time so we would have to wait a little longer (we've waited 12months another hour wasn't going to hurt)
We arrived up there with an hour to spur and got ourselves prepared (in the form of ropes, just incase one of us decided to turn one of our land rovers into a permanent feature of Morecambe Bay) Cedric and his friends (Mike Barry and John) arrived about 4pm, we had a few photos, and they told us about things they had seen and experienced around the sands, all well and good but we had to drive over there.
We all saddled up and began across what looked like a large flat field covered in short green grass. We crossed several deep gullies and a few streams heading west, and in the distance you could see the wind farm out to sea at Barrow-in-Furness. We then started South heading out onto the sand, due to us starting at Humphery head we started on the opposite side of the Bay so we had to travel around Humphery Head point to put us in the right position to take the path we wanted across to Arnside.
After traveling for about 15minutes over dry but firm sand we then started to cross what can only be described as millions of little speed bumps, the sand had turned wet and because it was covered by the sea when the tide was in it was covered in ripples. Along the route that Cedric had plotted for us were sprigs of evergreen laurel he had pushed into the sand to use as a reference point, as you can imagine there isn't much to use out there as the sand changes daily, some of the branches are washed away and he uses his expertise to guide us, but some remain depending on the the previous tide and weather. If you were to take yourself across there you would be tempted just to set of and make a bee line to the other side, this is where people become unstuck, as every couple of minutes Cedric was guiding us a few feet left and right, and pointing out areas that are well known to him for being treacherous. Cedric refered to the bay as the wet Sahara, as for miles and miles there was nothing but sand and patches of water, it is a truly amazing place.
After about 20minutes Cedric stopped us as we were approaching the river Kent, he had been out earlier and walked the river and again with the evergreen branches marked out 100meters wide area for us to cross. He told us all to cross at the same time in a line not in the convoy we had adopted for the rest of the crossing, to avoid us making soft spots and washing sand into each others path. We all lined up and set off, slowly at first to create a bow wave then gradually picking up the pace to follow the wave, you could feel the sand underneath was hard as it was like driving over the ripples again. The water was about waste height a meter or so, so was enough to see coming over the bonnet and getting a wet floor inside. The crossing was about 220meters across, so it gave the appearance of driving out to sea. After leaving the river we then crossed an area of shallow water of only 6inches or so but this was a vast area of about half a mile or so and was all soft sand and the view behind looked fantastic watching a convoy of landrovers behind ploughing through the shallow water all weaving in and out being guided out of the tracks of the previous vehicle.
After about two and a half miles we reached the bay of White creek where we stopped for a look round and for some of us to dry out after getting a lot of water through the window. After a few pics and a wander around Cedric said we had better be getting back as we were running out of time and its not the sort of thing we could argue with, the Sea.
We set off back towards the river following our tracks, but trying to keep out of them, the tracks we had made had now filled with water, and Cedric said this was because the sand had moved and had become soft underneath, The vehicles at the back were seeing the tyres sink by a couple of inches while driving as the sand was being driven on. We reached the River and had decided for one to cross and leave someone on the other side then come back so we could take photos of us crossing, So I went across to drop Kathryn one of us, off then to return for the pics. We all set off but this time because we knew what to expect lets say a little faster than before, we set off like the tide was chasing us, but as soon as we were in the water it was now coming well over the bonnet and windscreen it made for some great photos. Cedric was made up, he wasn't used to crossing like this, as its usually on his tractor, or walking so It made a pleasant change for him. Once we had reached the other side, we were told by Kathryn who had stayed behind to film that it hadn't taped, Oh well this meant we would have to cross again, how ever Simons Land Rover didn't have a raise air intake to avoid taking in water, and in the last cross due to going quicker and not following the bow wave he had sucked up some sand and water, not enough to stop it running but enough to cause a problem.We left to cross once more but left Simon to investigate. Cedric advised us to move a bit further up stream as we would of disturbed the sand a bit to much where he had originally planned. We crossed over and turned around to come back one last time. Again like last time we set off fast, but this time as we started to near the bank of the river we slowed right down, due to lack of traction, just moving a few meters out of where Cedric had planned the sand was a lot softer, and we could feel the difference. Once we crossed we stopped and re grouped, we stopped for more photos and to look around. The sand we were on was very soft and if you stood still you could feel the sand under foot moving, we were stopped for 15minutes or so and in this time Jon's and Simons Land Rovers had sank about 6 inches.
We moved off again following our original tracks, All in all we covered about 13 miles, which took us about 2 and a half hours. The Drive its self wasn't very difficult, but this was only due to the fact that we had Cedric and his team with us, It would of been a completely different story if we didn't have him. They told us that they had had a great time with us and a great laugh, so this made the day even more of a success for us.
While we were driving Jon was asked by Cedric's friend John what was the reason for us doing the crossing, he told him the story of what I had been through and we wanted to give something back to Christies. John who is now 70 was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer, the same as me in his mid 20's. He then went on to have children, and now has Grand children. Things like this make my worries easier to deal with, as it shows it is curable disease, even all them years ago. We were also told by Mike Cedric's friend that he had a cousin that was currently attending Christies and he was going with him for support so this was something close to him also.
I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has helped raise this money, to all my friends who were there on this expedition risking there pride and joys, Simon & Rachael, David & Donna, Jon & Karen, who's Mum has recently spent time in Christies and is now on the mend so this is as important to her as me, Philip, Kathryn & Linda and last but not least Tony & Janet, who unfortunately couldn't cross with us due to being on holiday, but we couldn't risk not doing it. I'd like to Thank Cedric, John, Mike and Barry, for giving up their time to help us do this as without them it wouldn't of been possible.
I would like to thank each and everyone of you for donating, and a thank you to all the companies that have sponsored us, and decorated our trucks.
I'd just like to say one final Thank you, and that is to Christies, because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here, and I rest safe in the knowledge, that if I need them they are there. If I've learned anything from this, it's that I have some fantastic Family and Friends, and the support you have shown me is immense. I hope and pray none of you or anyone you know need ever visit Christies, but if you do this is for you, and you'll be in safe hands.
Thank you again.
Lee.
P.S Ive added a few pics of the day, to the just giving page, but it will only allow a few. I'll be posting more on facebook for any one who is interested, and ill try and get the video on you tube once i've shortened it. Thanks.