Keith has quite a story to tell…
Two lung cancer diagnoses and an unrelated prostate cancer diagnosis would understandably cause most people enormous anxiety. But for Keith, he’s chosen to see it all as an adventure.
“People talk a lot about the ‘cancer journey’. Personally, I prefer the word adventure — and trust me, mine’s been quite the escapade!
“It all started back in 2016. I was on a bucket-list holiday in Italy, climbing Mount Vesuvius, when I began having chest pains. I’d always been active, so something didn’t feel right.
“As soon as I got home, I went to the doctor who sent me for an X-ray. I didn’t think much of it — and I certainly wasn’t prepared for what came next: a lung cancer diagnosis just a couple of weeks before Christmas.
“It was an incredibly difficult time. My wife and I decided not to tell our children until after the New Year, but it was obvious something was wrong. I’ve always been quite gregarious, but things got very dark. I’d go to bed at night and not expect to wake up.
“But I did — and that’s when I started to realise maybe I wasn’t a goner after all.”
The next twist
“I began treatment: 20 days of radiotherapy alongside several hours of chemotherapy each day. I actually tolerated it quite well — my only real side effect was exhaustion. No sickness, no nausea, just overwhelming fatigue.
“A few months later, I had my first follow-up scan. I couldn’t believe it — the treatment had worked. The cancer was gone!
“Life settled down again for a few years, until one of my routine follow up scans indicated a new problem. Prostate cancer. That diagnosis shocked me more than the first because I had no symptoms at all.
“It was graded as an 8 — highly aggressive. But I truly believe that if I hadn’t been having follow-up scans for lung cancer, it might never have been found. As strange as it sounds, I’m grateful for that first diagnosis — it may have saved my life twice.”
Recurrence
“After hormone therapy and radiotherapy for the prostate cancer, I was hit with another blow — the lung cancer had returned.
“This time, I was treated with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which hadn’t been available when I was first diagnosed. It just shows how far treatment has come, and how much progress is being made.
“When I was first told I had lung cancer, I thought it was a death sentence. But it’s not. I want people to know that you can live with lung cancer — I’m living proof.”
This is my life
“This is my reality. These are the cards I’ve been dealt. I can’t control getting cancer, but I can control how I respond. I choose to be positive, to enjoy life, and to see it all as an adventure.
“That mindset has led me to volunteer as a local litter picker — or ‘Wombler’, as we call ourselves. I love it! I get to be outdoors, meet new people, make friends, and do something good for the environment. It’s all good stuff.
“It’s now been almost nine years since my first diagnosis. I honestly didn’t expect to still be here — but as time’s gone on, I’ve just become more bolshy about it!
“I used to think that if you got lung cancer, that was it — there was no coming back. But I’ve learned that you can live with it, and live well.
“The way I see it, every day is a win. You have to live for today, because you never know what’s coming tomorrow. I wake up, have a great day, and go to bed looking forward to another great day tomorrow.”