United Kingdom Lung Cancer Coalition

Faces of Lung Cancer

Leslie - Northwood

Cricket fanatic and MCC member, Leslie Ableson (77), was diagnosed with lung cancer 16 years ago.

“I hadn’t been feeling quite right. I had a persistent cough, a temperature and kept getting a rather strange pulsating feeling in my throat.”

He went to his GP and then paid to see a consultant have chest x-rays.

“The x-rays were inconclusive but I wasn’t convinced. It was when I coughed up blood that I knew something was up. I found the only private consultant working on the Bank Holiday weekend, and to cut a long story short, I had a CT scan and then a biopsy.”

The young consultant who delivered the news didn’t pull any punches.

“I was informed I had lung cancer and he told me, point-blank, that it was inoperable and was pointless me undergoing any treatment. It was rather brutal.”

Fortunately for Leslie, his original consultant asked him to enter a new clinical trial, which he accepted.

“I was fortunate to receive both chemotherapy and radiotherapy and it did the trick. I was totally positive about my lung cancer. I knew I had to take the bull by the horns and get on with it.”

That year (1993) was a big year for Leslie for more than one reason.
“It was the year Middlesex won the County Championship at Lord’s. It was a tremendous boost. Cricket and that clinical trial saved my life.”

Donald - Cardiff

Donald (56), a Scotsman living in Cardiff, was diagnosed with lung cancer fourteen years ago. “I am in a very tiny minority. Most people with lung cancer don’t live beyond six months.”

Donald visited his GP twice in six months with severe shooting pains down his left arm. On both occasions he was sent for physiotherapy for a trapped nerve. “It was a correct diagnosis on the face of it,” said Donald. “But the nerve was actually trapped by a huge tumour on the outside of my left lung. The physio was all rather pointless.”

“Once I was finally diagnosed, I was told my condition was terminal and inoperable and was given three months to live. I had two choices: lay down and die, or just get on with it. I didn’t fancy the first option.”

“I was determined after the initial shock that my life should be as normal as possible. My wife and I decided that the best way for me to return to normality was to get straight back to work. “

In the last eight years, despite treatment for tumours on both lungs and surgery to remove brain cancer, Donald has only taken four weeks off work.
His career has gone from strength to strength at the general insurance brokers where he’s been employed for the last 10 years. He is now the managing director.

Donald has clearly defied medical science and believes more should be done to raise people’s awareness of the disease and more research money invested.

“Above all, I want to give people with lung cancer hope."

Lin - Birmingham

Lin (57) was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2001.

“I’d been poorly with the flu just before Christmas 2000 but I was still wheezing well into the New Year and people kept commenting on my breathlessness. I was a self-employed courier and my customers could hear me coming up their garden paths!”

“One morning in February I coughed up blood. I was shocked and went straight to my doctor.”

Lin was sent for a chest x-ray at Solihull General Hospital but, apart from her wheezing, she didn’t think there was anything wrong with her.

“I received a letter from the hospital saying I needed an emergency CT scan. I rang the hospital and said they must have made a mistake. They hadn’t. The scan showed my lung had collapsed and behind it was a hidden tumour. It was a terrible shock.”

Unable to remove the tumour by surgery, Lin received six cycles of chemotherapy and then started radiotherapy in December 2001, which unfortunately ‘knocked her for six’ and she had to go into hospital.

Despite all this, Lin remained positive. “I used to talk to my cancer and tell it to go away. You have to be stronger than the tumour. I couldn’t let it get to me – I had a husband and three children. They had to come first.”

Lin has thankfully been in remission since her radiotherapy. “They detected my cancer early so it gave me a better chance. You really can survive lung cancer.”

Yvonne - Exmouth

Ex-nurse, Yvonne (73) was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005. She stopped smoking over a decade ago

Yvonne’s cancer was operable and had successful surgery to remove part of her lung. “I really am one of the lucky ones but I have a history of lung cancer in my family so I am not off the hook yet.” Yvonne lost both her parents to lung cancer.

After her surgery four years ago, Yvonne went back to work - supporting young adults with learning difficulties and was determined to live as normal a life as possible. Despite her illness, her grandson is a smoker and her grand-daughter started smoking when she was 14 – but, due to her grandmother’s illness, has now stopped.

“I don’t think there’s enough help for smokers. I started smoking over 40 years ago as a young nurse when everyone smoked in the medical profession. Now I have become one of those terrible anti-smokers – but I really sympathise with people who can’t stop. I know I tried everything before I actually kicked the habit.”

Yvonne feels there is a positive message to lung cancer and there is hope for people. “I’ve been a shock to people. They had me on a death list. But I am still alive and feeling well. It’s important to tell people that you can survive and extend your life if you catch the disease early enough.”