The snakes and ladders of living with cancer

There are times when he makes great strides in his enduring battle against cancer.

Other times, he slips back and the fight begins all over again.

Noel lives with myeloma, a remitting and relapsing cancer. It is not curable.

And yet Noel feels blessed – blessed to have a loving family, including Helen, his wife of 40 years, and their sons Ben, 34, and Ollie, 31.

He believes he is blessed to have good friends, to have a second chance at life and to understand life is a gift.

Noel is a glass half full sort of guy and enjoys his job as a salesman, his role as a steward with Colchester United and the thankless task of refereeing Sunday football.

He looks well, which he attributes to having a Peter Pan gene, and yet he lives each day with cancer.

The 61-yearold, who lives in Stanway, was first diagnosed with myeloma in December 2008.

He woke up with a stiff neck and Helen, who is a nurse, nagged him to go to the doctor.

He said: “I thought it would pass, but my wife threatened to frogmarch me to there. I was prescribed painkillers. But the pain got worse.”

Noel was prescribed more painkillers, but after about a month, the pain was excruciating.

He said: “I thought it was a trapped nerve, but as I had medical insurance I asked to see a specialist.”

He had an MRI scan and an Xray and two days later he got the call to go to the Oaks Hospital, in Colchester.

“I was told I had a tumour on my neck pressing on my third vertebra,” he said. “My wife was in pieces. As a nurse she understood what was being said. To me, he was talking but I heard every fifth word.

“I couldn’t understand it. I was healthy and fit. I lived life to the full. I was devastated.

“We went home in silence.

Thinking about my mortality was difficult, but the most traumatic part was telling the boys."

The pain was so bad by now Noel was given morphine.

He underwent radiotherapy at Essex County Hospital and a dose of chemotherapy.

Six weeks after his diagnosis, surgeons undertook the delicate operation to remove a tumour from his neck.

“It was incredibly complex,”

said Noel. “One wrong move and I could have been paralysed.”

However, the operation, which included fitting a titanium plate, was a success. Noel underwent six cycles of chemotherapy. In August 2009, Noel was admitted to St Bartholomew's Hospital in London for a stem cell transplant.

White blood cells were taken from him and cryogenically frozen and treated.

He then underwent what he describes as “industrial strength chemotherapy” through which he lost his hair and suffered extreme nausea and mouth ulcers.

He was kept in isolation, staying in one room for a month. He remembers looking out across the London skyline, seeing the roof of the Old Bailey, his only vista.

The risk of infection was life-threatening, but the cleaned white blood cells were re-introduced to his body and Noel went into remission.

He returned to work, went back to being a steward for the U’s and to refereeing on a Sunday.

He said: “I wanted normality.

Going to work was great. I had missed the interaction with my colleagues. I have been a steward at Col U for more years than I care to remember and it gives me a great deal of enjoyment."

Noel decided to give his match fees as a referee to Colchester Hospitals Charity and over the past 18 months has donated £400.

He also supports Myeloma UK, Macmillan nurses and St Helena Hospice, organisations which gave him support when he needed it most.

However, after two-and-a-half years, the myeloma came back with a vengeance.

“It’s like a game of snakes and ladders,” said Noel. “It is great when you are climbing up the ladders, but you have to realise there are snakes as well.”

Noel was prescribed a drug called Velcade and, at first, it was effective but during the third and fourth treatments, he relapsed again. However, Barts was trialling a new drug and Noel was allowed to take part in the trial.

That was two years ago.

Noel said: “My levels are as low as can be expected and I am classed as being in remission.”

There are no guarantees, but Noel embraces life.

He said: “My illness is classed as terminal. I will never be free of it. It will probably do for me at the end, I am aware of that, but I am at peace, I understand it.

“I have this mantra. I have myeloma, but it has not got me.

Life is for living, so love life.”

NOEL supports the Cancer Centre Campaign to raise £4.5 million to bring services together at Colchester General Hospital.

He pays tribute to medical staff. He said: “They supported me and my family when I was ill and nothing was too much trouble for them, no question was too silly.

“They have become friends, they are so caring. I am one of many, but you get treated as though you are an individual and that means a lot.

“It would mean so much to bring the services together.”

To donate to the appeal, text GAZE11 £10 to 70070 to donate to the Cancer Centre Campaign (or choose a different amount).

Cheques can be made payable to CoHoC Cancer Centre Campaign and sent to Colchester Hospitals Charity, Villa 10, Turner Road, Colchester, CO4 5JL.

Donations can also be made online by going to CohoC.org.uk