My story starts the Tuesday morning of AFL Grand Final week 2005. I’m 35 years old at the time. I have a ticket to the game but history will show I did not make it to that game. I had not been feeling 100% for a few weeks, low energy levels, weight loss for no reason, becoming more pale-skinned each day and I had a very sore left ankle.

As floor warden for the 21st floor in the building I was working in, I was one of the few people aware that an emergency drill had been planned for today. Five minutes after the emergency fire alarm sounded, the 21st floor was evacuated except for a skeleton staff and the floor wardens.

I was not looking forward to the long journey via the stairs to the ground floor and, stopping after just 2 floors feeling dizzy and light-headed, I knew I could not go any further. After having a rest I was able to make it back to my desk where I called a doctor and an hour later I was making a very slow journey of half a city street block to my doctor’s appointment.
It would be the last time I would be at work for two and a half years.

I had never met this doctor but one look at me and he knew there was something seriously wrong. Blood was taken and I was sent home with a promise he would call me the next day with some results. The resultant phone call lead to a specialist appointment, more blood taken and bone marrow extracted (ouch!), and then admittance to the Freemason’s Hospital on AFL Grand Final day.

Surely a cruel and unusual punishment I thought, being admitted to a hospital 200 metres from the MCG on AFL Grand Final day, although my Aunt Catherine got to witness one of the most exciting footy matches in history and she did visit me after the match.

One night at the Freemason’s and I was transferred to St Vincent’s where I would spend 26 months receiving treatment, 9 months as an in-patient and 17 months as an out-patient.

The shock of being told you have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) and that the specialists recommend going onto a medical trial, which will take over 2 years to complete, can be pretty daunting. But all around me all I heard were positives – “this treatment is heaps better than the previous treatment”, “we caught this early”, “don’t worry we can beat this” and after two days of being X-rayed, scanned, poked, prodded and injected with radioactive dye I received the ultimate compliment – “you’re the healthiest person in this hospital (apart from your leukaemia) and this is great news because we can give you the strongest possible chemo”.

One thing that was not mentioned was how much worse you feel from the chemo prior to feeling a whole lot better.

Your general health plays such a big part in how you are treated. Not having diabetes, heart problems, obesity and not smoking can literally save your life when you get seriously ill.

My memories of my treatment can be broken down into the following.

Blood – Why did I never give blood? My body was filled six times over with blood transfusions. So if you can give blood, please do, you will never know how much it means to a cancer patient who has no white blood cells, and very few red blood cells and platelets.

To the many, many family and friends who visited me in hospital and at home, and also looked after my wife Vanessa thankyou very much, especially to my mother-in-law Kathy who travelled from Canada and spent 9 months in Australia.

Colin McFarlane and the Leukaemia Foundation drove me to and from many appointments as an out-patient, when I was unable to drive and taking a taxi or public transport was not really an option.

During my long stay in hospital I only ever really got to know one other patient, and to Graeme and his family thank you for everything. Sadly, Graeme did not win his battle with leukaemia but he will not be forgotten by me or my family.

To the staff at St Vincent’s, especially the nurses, but the doctors, specialist surgeons and students who looked after me during 9 months as an in-patient and 17 months as an out-patient, thank you very much.

My last day of chemo is one I will never forget. So many emotions, thoughts and challenges just racing through my mind. General health (especially dental), exercise, work, energy levels and future family planning, just to name a few.

I definitely have a second chance at life and it allows me to view it through a different lens. Life is too short to feel sorry for yourself.

I feel healthy and very, very lucky!

Read other personal experiences from young people with cancer:

Natalie's Story
Andrew's Story
Jenna's Story
Nikki's Story
Kylie's Story
Bec's Story
Lily's Story
Georgia's Story
Kylie's Story