My name's Andy McNeil, I'm originally from
North Yorkshire and I'm living in
Winchester the moment
and I run a personal training and fitness company.
My first reaction when I first got diagnosed
was probably confusion as much as
anything because I known that I hadn't been very
well but I didn't know what it was and
it was ironically a locum doctor who was
in the surgery that I go to who had
asked a lot of questions and said
I think we should go for an x-ray and blood
tests and stuff like this, and we think it's lymphoma.
I had never heard of lymphoma as
a cancer before and then I did a little
bit of research into it obviously.
It's quite strange in retrospect looking
back at my diagnosis because I was
almost blase if I'm honest it's
odd but it just had to be treated and I
can remember going to an ear, nose and
throat specialist, I had a lump in my neck
so I have got my little scar,
and they said we need to take a biopsy and
I said well do it now, get on with it now,
deal with this right away and
I think that was my attitude all the way
through, just get on with it.
I actually changed my day, because I was told
that I'd be treated on Wednesday for lymphoma
and I said no I want treating on
Friday because it worked better for me with work
because I'm self-employed and they were
able to do that. I've said that to
people when I've talked about my
experiences, that never be afraid to
ask a question, cancer can
be quite overwhelming and very scary
but I think the more you feel like you
are taking control of it the stronger
you will feel about it all because it
can be a bit of a whirlwind.
I do think it is a real mindset around, you have to
be positive with it all,
because there's no other way to be.
If you're going to beat it, you have got
to say this isn't going to get the
better of me, I want to be around in
15, 20, 30 years time to be able to see my
children grow up and then have children and
all that kind of thing and whether
it's because of what I do as a job,
I don't know, but I saw it all as
literally almost like a training plan
and this is the start of your
treatment here and you have this happen,
and if that is still not right then you have
this happen and that's the path you
go along, and that is just what you have got to do.
Whatever it is that you find makes you
feel better, so I use to like
having loads of people around for a big
lunch or a big breakfast or something
like that, because that made me feel better,
as long as they are fit and healthy and they
all new if they have got a cold they couldn't come round,
particularly if your in treatment so your
neutrophil count is down, do things that
make you feel good and that will
help you get through it. It is just
treatment if you break your leg
you have to have a cast on it, and its set again,
if you have got cancer this is what you have got to have.
Some people talk about the ills of
chemotherapy, and it's an awful thing to do,
but chemotherapy saved my life and it can save other people's lives.
I did seek knowledge with regards to my
treatment but the trouble is that the
internet is such a dangerous thing
and there is so much stuff out there that is not controlled.
Instead you can be speaking to
your oncology team and to the
lymphoma nurses who were brilliant,
the NHS is a fantastic resource that we have.
They do superb job and
in tandem with the Lymphoma Association being able to
give people support and explain
what the treatment path is going to be and
also after care as well, you're
gonna get looked after all the way through
The Lymphoma Association was
a group that I found through my
oncology team and through my hematology team
and the cancer care unit in Winchester and in
Southampton and I remember
ringing them up and asking about lymphoma,
what is lymphoma, what does it entail
and what's going to happen
and they were brilliant and knowing
that you've got a dedicated group of
people who are there on the end of the phone
from financial advice and emotional advice,
to putting you on to other groups
like Macmillan as well who can help out
is really reassuring, knowing that there's actually
people around who want to help
and that's great.