The Cancer Survivors Club (21 page)

Ali Stunt – I'm a Statistic of One

Ali Stunt is entering her sixth year of survival after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She considers herself incredibly lucky as only three percent of patients ever get this far. She is now devoting her time to running the charity she set up, called Pancreatic Cancer Action. The aim of this charity is to raise awareness and educate people about the disease. Her dream is that more people like her can have the same outcome. Ali enjoys spending time with her family, walking her two golden retrievers and having lots of laughs with her girlfriends! To date, recent scans and blood tests are still showing ‘no evidence of disease'.

Katie Patterson – The Cancer Card

Katie Patterson went on to finish her studies at university and really enjoyed ‘uni life'. She has a part-time job in a cocktail bar, which has brought her a whole new group of friends to have even more fun with. On finishing her treatment she enjoyed a girly holiday in Ibiza with her friends. Katie's second fund-raising fancy-dress walk was also a great success.

Katie recently celebrated being in remission for five years since her transplant. To mark this huge milestone she is currently backpacking around Australia.

Jason Edgar – My Journey

Jason Edgar lives with his daughter Holly. He works as part of a project team for a large health insurer. In his spare time, Jason is a cancer awareness campaigner and fundraiser for both local and national testicular cancer charities.

Jason enjoys time with his daughter and has recently got engaged to his new partner Sarah. His hobbies include swimming, walking and music festivals. Most importantly to him, he is part of his daughter's life. Jason is still cancer free and loves every moment of being a member of the cancer survivors
club.

Kate Beynon – Animal Therapy

Kate Beynon continues to live in a beautiful part of Wales, on a dairy farm with her husband and energetic sons, Tom, Jack and Harry. She works on their farm and manages a small campsite, which keeps both her mind and body active. Living on the Gower for Kate is idyllic, especially being so close to the sea. She has an assortment of animals
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cats, dogs, horses, cows and calves who are her therapy and counsellors. Kate also works hard in raising awareness and money for cancer charities. There are lasting complications from her treatment, which she deals with on a day-to-day basis; however, each morning when she wakes, she's grateful and always makes the most of
it.

Jessica Smith – Life and Death Inside Me

Jessica Smith continues first and foremost to be a full-time mum to her two beautiful boys. She is the healthiest and fittest she has ever been and enjoys life tremendously.

Jessica and her family go camping whenever they can and she's making plans to start her own business once her younger son starts school. Jessica runs a playgroup, is part of her son's Parents Teacher Association and is totally immersed in family life. Jessica still has regular check-ups to monitor her side effects and her body after cancer but, six years on, she is delighted to say that her illness has not returned.

Marilyn Taylor – A Bright Light

Marilyn Taylor lives with her husband in Derbyshire and still enjoys the gardening that she credits with saving her life. She recently attended the marriage of her only daughter and likes to spend time with her grandson. Her newfound hobby is seeking out priceless treasures at car boot sales on Sunday mornings.

Michael Stephenson – A Father's Perspective

Michael's daughter Clare reached her seven-year milestone in August 2012. She is fit and well; the dark days are now a distant memory. This experience has really changed all their lives. Both Clare and Kris work hard to raise awareness for various local cancer charities near their home in Bristol. When not working together, running a printing business, their other hobbies include extending their house. No longer do Michael and Yvonne take life for granted; they appreciate just how precious life
is.

Andrea Paine – Things Happen for a Reason

Andrea Paine is a Senior Director for the Federal Minister of Health in Ottawa, Canada. She lives in Montreal, Quebec, with her husband and three daughters. An avid runner, she is always training for various races and half-marathons.

Her blog is continuing to inspire both cancer survivors and runners alike. Andrea remains cancer free and has a more positive outlook on life than
ever.

Paula Glass – Live Life to the Full

Paula Glass is now at work full-time after having to start gradually. She has recently purchased her first home and still enjoys socializing and having day trips out with friends. After completing her cancer treatment, she is feeling better than she ever has before and is still cancer
free.

Julie King – If in Doubt, Persevere

Julie King lives in Cheshire with her husband and two teenage sons. She has decided not to return to teaching and thoroughly enjoys her voluntary work. Her hobbies include gardening, reading, swimming and yoga. She is currently busy project managing the renovation of a house she and her husband recently bought. Since her treatment finished, she remains well and cancer free. She is delighted to report that people tell her she looks better than she did in her pre-cancer days, which she attributes to a different outlook on life and continuation of the healthier diet she adopted during treatment.

Mark Davies – How to Solve a Problem like my Rear

It has been seven years since Mark successfully underwent Papillon radiotherapy and TEM micro-surgery, and he is still free of cancer. Having closed his company after diagnosis, Mark now works part-time for the company that makes the Papillon machine as its patient advocate, as well as giving lectures to bowel cancer screening nurses at various conferences. He has written his own cancer story and shares his experiences as a patient voice with patients, carers and survivors. He went travelling for six months after the five-year all clear to South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and now lives in Manchester.

Amanda Baird – Never Give Up

Amanda had another disease-free MRI scan last June and just has a check-up every six months. She successfully completed the triathlon she mentioned in a time of one hour seventeen minutes, which was a huge personal achievement for her and helped raised a lot of money for Pancreatic Cancer UK. Her cycle ride from London to Brighton will go ahead in September of this year. She is feeling fabulous and looking to the future with optimism and
hope.

Helen Gorick – Miracles Do Happen

Helen Gorick lives in Devon with her husband, Mark, and children from her first marriage. She is running her own business making glass beads and also teaches others. When not in her studio, she enjoys walking her dogs on the beautiful Devon coastline. Her other hobbies include nature photography. Nearly eight years after her stem cell transplant, she remains cancer
free.

Abbie Sparks – Better You than Me

Abbie Sparks lives in Bristol with her mum and is training to become a paramedic. She enjoys horse riding, going to the gym and generally being alive. More than fourteen years after her treatment, she is still cancer free and remains very positive.

David Mason – Mother of All Surgeries

David Mason lives with his wife, Tracey, and two daughters, Jessica and Chloe. David has made a return to caving, climbing, fishing and running, and ran a half-marathon, raising funds for research into Pseudomyxoma Peritonei. He is also looking forward to his first family holiday since his treatment.

Gillian Metcalfe – A Mother's Perspective

If it hadn't been for Alessandro getting sick, his natural talent for playing the piano would never have been discovered. He still wakes up every morning and plays even before his breakfast. He's won a few awards including the award for best young musician of the year in Gibraltar and has formed a band with his friends. He has played in quite a few local clubs and his ambition now is to do well in his A-levels and go to a music university to further his knowledge. It's been seven years since his treatment and he is now a very healthy young
man.

Barbara Conway – How It Was

Barbara has now been discharged from hospital; she celebrated in style with a glass of wine. Currently, she is working four days a week as an Accounts Manager for a small family business. She also teaches children to dance and is a qualified colour counsellor and healer, teacher and colour life coach. Barbara enjoys having holidays by the sea and visiting her brother and his wife in the Lake District. She also loves going out with friends and family and spending time with her two cats who helped her when she was having treatment for cancer.

Mark Gillett – Keep Smiling

Mark Gillett is married with two children: Sam, a lovely boy aged ten, and Sophie, a six-year-old bundle of energy. He works in a local college, which is challenging but fun, and, while still living with diabetes, he will never forget the past, and he is very positive about the future and looking forward to the coming years.

Kathleen Giles – Too Frightened to Ask

Kathleen has just celebrated her silver wedding anniversary and loves spending time with her two rapidly growing grandchildren. She has been cancer free since
1995.

Stewart Hodge – Getting the Gist

It's now nearly five years since Stewart finished his treatment. He still feels extremely fortunate that a young doctor, whom he never met again, correctly sensed he had a tumour. He feels in a privileged position to have beaten the disease, something he'll never take for granted again. The simplest things, like spending time with his family, give him the most pleasure.

Shelly Ostrouhoff – Cancer Is a Word, Not a Sentence

A recent scan confirmed that Shelly Ostrouhoff has now been free of cancer for over ten years. She looks forward to spending the rest of her long life with her two children and husband, Michael, on the Gold Coast in Australia, enjoying the simple things in life. Sadly, her sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, so she is now using her knowledge and experience to help her overcome the disease
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we look forward to reading her survival story in the next edition!