Watching your loved one pass away from lung cancer is hard enough but to then be diagnosed with the same disease is a terrifying place to be. But thanks to early detection, Michael’s story turned out very differently…
“I was devastated when my sister passed away. So when I was also diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, my first thought was ‘I’ll be dead within a year.’
“I just assumed that’s what happened — you were diagnosed and then you died. There was no in-between. That had been my sister’s experience and, when I googled small cell lung cancer (which everyone tells you not to do), everything I read confirmed my worst fears. Death seemed inevitable. Why would I be any different?
“Then I had a conversation that changed everything. My oncologist told me they were aiming to cure me. That word — cure — completely floored me. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I understood lung cancer — the symptoms, the outcome — but it turns out I was the poster boy for misconceptions.
But I didn’t have a cough.
“I’d always believed that if you had lung cancer, you’d be coughing or struggling to breathe. But I didn’t have any of that. My symptoms were completely different — I was just very tired and had lost a lot of weight. Nothing that screamed lung cancer.
“But having been through cancer before — I’d previously been treated for anal cancer — I knew how important it was to act quickly when something doesn’t feel right. That decision made all the difference.
Struggling through treatment
“That’s not to say it was easy. Radiotherapy and especially chemotherapy completely knocked me for six. It was really, really hard. But I made some incredible friends on the chemo ward, and we got each other through it.
“I remember my last chemo session vividly. I felt awful and honestly didn’t know if I could go through with it. But the troops rallied and they got me through it. Between them, my lung cancer nurse and Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, I was well supported throughout the whole experience.
A life I quite like.
Recovery takes time. There were moments I thought, ‘Is this it? Am I going to feel like this forever?’ But you have to persevere.
“Now, when I look back at where I was six months ago, I can see how far I’ve come. I’m not running marathons, but I’m walking more, going out, enjoying life again. The change has been remarkable.
“I now feel well enough to do the things I’m passionate about. It may not be the life I had before my diagnosis but that’s not bad.
I’m a different person, living a different life – but it’s a life I quite like.”