Jim’s Story
The first indications I had that something might be amiss (indeed the only indication up to then) was when I felt something trickling down the back of my leg and as I was in the Gents toilet at the time it took me no time to discover what the trickling was - blood and I think everyone knows that blood from the bottom can be bad news and needs investigating. Within four weeks of all kinds of tests I was listening to the results from the consultant that I had bowel cancer, which was no real surprise.
Three weeks later the tumour had been removed by keyhole surgery and I was at home (with a stoma) and feeling fine and a month later I started a course of chemotherapy on what was described as a ‘belt and braces’ basis. In other words to make doubly sure that everything was clear. I had some apprehension about this but the ambience was so supportive that my fears were put to flight. However, the only disturbance to what had been a smooth recovery process came halfway through the chemotherapy when I picked up an infection and it was a couple of weeks before I resumed at a slightly lower level. By the end of the year, ten months or so since that first ‘trickle’ my stoma had been reversed and, happily, everything has been clear on the periodic checks and I have just a year and a bit to go before I should be in the clear and I haven’t even got a scar to show for it.
I know full well that I am one of the really lucky ones but the percentages of success against cancer are going up all the while, so if I can point any moral from my experience it is not to let any suspicion that all may not be well go by without examination. The word cancer gives us all a shudder of fear but as the American President Roosevelt said (on a different subject) ‘we have nothing to fear except fear itself’. I hope that anyone reading this has the same fortunate path as I have had.