This month, we explore Richard’s bowel cancer story to raise awareness of symptoms to look out for and to let other people know what to expect if they are at the start of their cancer journey.
Symptoms
In May 2018 I first noticed unusual symptoms when I was aged 69. I was working full time at a Business School in Little Compton, working from 6pm – 2am whilst looking after up to 120 mature students.
Whilst at work during the night I had the sudden urge to go to the toilet but when I did, there was nothing there, apart from some blood. I had suffered from haemorrhoids before so I put it down to that and didn’t think anything of it. However, roughly a quarter of an hour later, I had a sudden urge to go to the toilet once more but again, nothing. I knew this didn’t feel right so the next day, I arranged a GP appointment.
The GP said it didn’t sound like haemorrhoids and he wanted to fast track me for a colonoscopy to check for anything else. In June 2018, just one month later from when I first noticed my symptoms, it was confirmed by the procedure that I had a tumour located in the lower rectum.
In the same month, I was referred to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford for a sigmoidoscopy which examines the lower intestine with a camera. This confirmed the presence of the tumour and the decision was made to proceed with a course of high intensity chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
During August to October 2018, I had daily trips to Oxford from Gloucestershire for oral chemotherapy and radiotherapy. After the course of treatment had finished, I had a PET scan which used radioactive substances to produce a detailed 3-dimensional image of the inside of my body. During my consultation with a senior Oncologist, he told me the good news that the PET scan showed the tumour had reduced in size due to the radiotherapy but the bad news was that the PET scan had also revealed suspicious lesions on my liver.
During January to March 2019 I underwent more IV chemotherapy at the Horton hospital in Banbury, which consisted of four sessions with three week breaks in between. In April 2019 I had another sigmoidoscopy and further scans to find out the impact of the chemotherapy and radiotherapy and to determine whether I needed more surgery. It was agreed that I would need surgery to eradicate the liver lesions as this posed a greater threat at the time than the need to remove the tumour.
In May 2019, I had the pre-operative assessment and on 30 May, I had the first operation on the liver which was hoped to be keyhole surgery, but because the lesions were in a difficult position, open surgery was the only option.
Unfortunately, when recovering from the surgery I contracted pneumonia in hospital which delayed my recovery and caused some concern with the consultants.
I eventually recovered from the pneumonia and needed further tests to see the extent of the cancer. On 10 October, I had another sigmoidoscopy, a CT scan and an MRI which confirmed the tumour in my rectum had returned. The MRI scan showed further lesions on the liver and the additional PET scan confirmed this.
A further bout of IV chemotherapy followed in January 2020 and in March 2020. On this occasion, however, I had a bad reaction to the drug I was taking which led me to develop type 2 diabetes and I was told I would need to be on insulin for life. This was a huge shock, but I accepted this as part of the treatment and decided to look positively at the future.
In April 2020, I had two MRI scans of the liver and pelvis which unfortunately found the recurring malignant mass in the rectum and I knew I would need more treatment.
In May 2020, I remember being at home and I was doing some ironing but I felt very tired and out of breath. I didn’t think anything of it but went to bed early and woke up in the early hours of the morning not being able to breathe properly.
I called my daughter who in turn called an ambulance and I was rushed to hospital at Cheltenham and tested for Covid which at the time was rampant. At that stage, everyone assumed this was a Covid related illness. However, during my tests, the doctors found two pulmonary embolisms – which are sudden blockages in the blood vessels that send blood to your lungs – and there was one on each lung. I stayed in hospital for about a week before being discharged.
A few days later I had an interview with the Colorectal team at the Churchill and I was told that due to the pulmonary embolisms, I couldn’t be operated on as my wider health wasn’t strong enough for it. The recommendation was for me to have further chemotherapy and if that didn’t work, then regrettably, palliative care would have been the only option. This obviously came as a huge shock to me and I couldn’t believe the rough rollercoaster of poor health I had experienced since my cancer journey began. However, owing to the intervention of my Oncologist, who did not agree with that prognosis, I was offered a further interview with the Senior Consultant Prof. Cunningham who agreed to go ahead with the operation to remove the tumour, providing I passed the POA which would show my fitness level to undergo the operation which thankfully I did pass.
In July 2020 I had the operation and a stoma bag was fitted for an ileostomy. The tumour in my rectum had been removed which was a relief but I had to adjust to my new life with a stoma bag in place.
In September 2020 I had my third operation, this time to remove the lesions that had returned in my liver for the second time. At that stage, the experts realised the diabetes I had developed was in fact a reaction to the cancer drug I was taking and I was taken off the drug which amazingly reversed my diabetes symptoms. Again, I had to get my head around no longer being diabetic and no longer needing to take daily insulin. Although it was good news, it was also a very confusing time.
Following the operation and subsequent recovery in March 2021, I had a CT scan which proved everything was OK which was a huge relief, and in May 2021, I had a conversation with the medical team about a stoma reversal which took place in August 2021. I no longer had a stoma bag in place and I felt I could now look forward to my future for the first time in a long time.
Post treatment
In 2022, I started to live my life again and wanted to pay back my immense thanks to the incredible NHS and the team at the Churchill and have now volunteered as a driver with the local ambulance service. Also, following some advice an old friend said to me “live each day like it is your last” which I intend to do because one day it will be! But hopefully thanks to this team that’s some time away. With that in mind, and after some persuading from my sons, I decided last year to do the zip wire in Snowdonia to remind myself how grateful I was to be living each day again.
I have a CT scan booked for June 2023 where I hope to get the all clear. My advice to anyone, especially men, and I cannot stress this enough, is to do all of the routine tests requested by your GP. I ignored these tests and I regret it every day. These are being sent to us to detect cancer early on. Please, please do take these simple and easy tests because if you do, unlike me, you might avoid five years of aggressive cancer treatment or God forbid worse if you don’t catch it early enough.
Finally, I regard the Oncologists and Consultants at the Oxford University Hospital’s Colorectal Surgery Department, which is part funded by charity Occtopus, with such high esteem. The charity’s Trustee, Prof. Christopher Cunningham, was my surgeon and I want to thank him and his team as he is an amazing man and I have a huge amount of respect and gratitude for him. Also I have to credit my Oncologist, Professor Rachel Kerr, whose belief in me and encouragement may well have prevented a very different tale. Both along with their respective teams have given me a new lease of life and a desire to appreciate everyday life and live life to the full. I am eternally grateful to all concerned at the NHS Churchill Hospital, the Colorectal and Hepatobiliary departments and of course all the amazing nursing staff. Not forgetting Hilda!
Richard with his daughter on her wedding day in December 2021