Cancer Story

Marked up for radio-therapy

As I am often asked about this I will give the basic details to save myself from having to keep repeating them.  In reality, although it was a potentially fatal illness, it proved to be only a ‘hiccup’ in my progress. The most startling aspect of this episode was the miraculous speed of my recovery from what is quite a deep operation.

The British “Checkemlads” site is the most popular testicular cancer site in Europe. Find them here.

The basics were as follows:

May 31st 1997: Won the team bronze medal when finishing in 20th position at the European 100km Road Running Championships in Italy.
June 24th: Presented to local GP with strange sensation in left, slightly larger testicle, no pain, no real symptoms but a gut feeling that all was not well.
June 26th: Saw the general surgeon in Kirkwall who diagnosed suspected tumour and informed me that I would need to see a specialist in Aberdeen as soon as possible.
July 3rd: Under went surgery for removal of left testicle in Aberdeen.
July 5th: Arrived back home.
July 6th: Walked 40m (with great difficulty).
July 7th: Walked 40m.
July 8th: Walked 100m.
July 9th: Walked 800m and cycled 2 miles.
July 10th: 1.5 mile walk.
July 11th: 1.5 mile walk.
July 12th: 3.2 mile walk.
July 13th: 55 minute run/walk.
July 14th: Cycling plus circuit training.
July 15th: 60 minutes run/walk/cycle.
July 16th: 4 miles continuous running (13 days after major surgery – wow!!)
July 17th: 4.4 miles continuous running.
July18th: 5 miles plus circuits.
July 19th: Resumed normal training routine with more gradual increases in volume and intensity.

August: Was selected to represent Great Britain in the World 100km Road Running Championships in Holland in September. I had faxed the selectors copies of my training diaries and had pronounced myself as fit for the Championships.

September 13th: Finished in 45th position (M40 8th) in 7hrs 27mins 56seconds in the World 100km Championships. Very pleased.

September 23rd: Had CAT scans in Aberdeen.

Sep 29th – October 18th: Stayed at Tor-na-dee Hospital in Milltimber, Aberdeen, traveling everyday to Foresterhill Hospital for radiotherapy treatment. Trained every day, 45-60 miles a week easy running.

Follow-up lasts for 10 years, starting with 3 times a year check ups in Kirkwall (X-ray, palpation, blood tests), then twice a year then once.