Neil Tookey
Neil's page
Fundraising for Movember
Story
Beating the C physically & mentally
It's been almost 5 years in remission, so I thought it's time to share my story, create awareness and give something back to the people that have helped me.
In early December 2014 I got the news at my local GP surgery that no young guy wants to ever hear. ‘we're really sorry to tell you this, but there is a profound growth that we believe to be testicular cancer and we need to operate as soon as we can’.
It's been almost 5 years in remission, so I thought it's time to share my story, create awareness and give something back to the people that have helped me.
In early December 2014 I got the news at my local GP surgery that no young guy wants to ever hear. ‘we're really sorry to tell you this, but there is a profound growth that we believe to be testicular cancer and we need to operate as soon as we can’.
I remember that moment as if it was yesterday as there's only been a few occasions in my life where time has stood still.
Unfortunately this was not a happy time and one that completely threw me off guard, as for the first time I didn't think I was invincible anymore. Was my time up? how will this affect my family and girlfriend? can I still have kids? has it spread? how will I feel about my body? what about work? All these thoughts were rushing through my mind at 100mph, yet the only thing I could think of was ‘get this tumour out of me’
Needless to say I was in denial for at least 24hrs, questioning everything, why me and why now when everything was going right in my life? With cancer there is no right timing, you don't have a choice, you just need to hopefully notice the signs and you can catch it quick, and then try be positive. So that's what I did and had the operation within three days of hearing the news, at BMI Blackheath - luckily I had private healthcare, something I would recommend having, as the team via London Bridge hospital are first class in cancer care.
As ops go it wasn't that bad. The doctors described it like having my appendix out, in my head I thought, ‘are you having a laugh, I'm losing one of my soldiers here!’, but all in all it wasn't as bad as first thought after cutting a 5 inch tumour out of me.
Being honest, that night in the hospital I was in a dark place and I have had many battles post the operation. I guess getting any form of cancer will do that to you.
The doctors told me to take two weeks off and just rest up, but I was back in the office within the week, I just wanted to move on. Rightly or wrongly that's what I did, I needed to keep busy as who knew what was around the corner. Most times you will be advised to have post treatment, I.e radiotherapy or chemotherapy, but I was one of the lucky ones that got advised to have regular check ups and be monitored for 5 years. I feel so grateful that I had a good relationship with my oncologist and he gave me the stats straight up, allowing me to make my own choice about whether I wanted treatment or not.
Simon Chowdhury my super doctor from Guys Hospital has helped me along this journey, and I put my faith into his professional advice.
I’ve seen a lot of people go through chemo and it’s a testament to all the amazing team at Guys that support people going through it.
I had a new sense of appreciation for life on Christmas Eve 2014 when we were told the positive news that my operation was a success. The scans showed that luckily, the cancer had not spread to any other part of my body, and so treatment shouldn’t be needed. I would be closely monitored for the next 5 years, but with that sense of appreciation I felt, it also brought a whole new mindset of challenges - anxiety, at times depression, confidence issues, ones to be fair I don't think I had before that few minutes of bad news at the GP.
Did I have PTSD 1 month, 1 year, 2 years later? Yes I probably did and the best advice I got was to talk to specialists that could help, listen and help me to work on my mental health. This has helped both my wife and I to cope better.
I guess the whole experience I can say has been a rollercoaster of a journey and one I couldn't of got through without the support from my now wife Beth who has been my rock, and my close family and friends.
Life will throw all sorts of challenges at you and like a wise man recently told me (Geoff Thomas, a leukaemia survivor) just look outside and appreciate every single day - we're the lucky ones right now.
Sometimes you need to take these challenges on in life whether you want to or not. I wanted tell my story mainly to create awareness of male cancers - testicular and prostate, as let's face it, us guys are pretty stupid sometimes and just ignore the signs. I nearly did and am fortunate enough to tell this story now, so if you get any symptoms just book an appointment today. For more information on the symptoms checkout: https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/testicular-cancer
I'm eternally grateful to all the support at Guys / St Thomas's Hospital and the Movember team which is why I'm setting up two justgiving links with an aim to raise as much as I can for all the great work they do both on a research level and a care output.
I mentioned life sets you challenges earlier, so I'm going big this month and hitting booze on the head (minus one day, I work in media) and as a penalty I'm giving up sugar for the whole of October. Anyone that knows me will know I love an el vino and chocolate so this is going to be tough.
Adding to this I've set up a team at essence to run 10k around Greenwich park 30th November supporting the Movember awareness whilst rocking out a Mo for 30 days.
Anything you can do to support the charities I will be grateful.
Thanks for reading and hopefully this story will help someone one day.
Unfortunately this was not a happy time and one that completely threw me off guard, as for the first time I didn't think I was invincible anymore. Was my time up? how will this affect my family and girlfriend? can I still have kids? has it spread? how will I feel about my body? what about work? All these thoughts were rushing through my mind at 100mph, yet the only thing I could think of was ‘get this tumour out of me’
Needless to say I was in denial for at least 24hrs, questioning everything, why me and why now when everything was going right in my life? With cancer there is no right timing, you don't have a choice, you just need to hopefully notice the signs and you can catch it quick, and then try be positive. So that's what I did and had the operation within three days of hearing the news, at BMI Blackheath - luckily I had private healthcare, something I would recommend having, as the team via London Bridge hospital are first class in cancer care.
As ops go it wasn't that bad. The doctors described it like having my appendix out, in my head I thought, ‘are you having a laugh, I'm losing one of my soldiers here!’, but all in all it wasn't as bad as first thought after cutting a 5 inch tumour out of me.
Being honest, that night in the hospital I was in a dark place and I have had many battles post the operation. I guess getting any form of cancer will do that to you.
The doctors told me to take two weeks off and just rest up, but I was back in the office within the week, I just wanted to move on. Rightly or wrongly that's what I did, I needed to keep busy as who knew what was around the corner. Most times you will be advised to have post treatment, I.e radiotherapy or chemotherapy, but I was one of the lucky ones that got advised to have regular check ups and be monitored for 5 years. I feel so grateful that I had a good relationship with my oncologist and he gave me the stats straight up, allowing me to make my own choice about whether I wanted treatment or not.
Simon Chowdhury my super doctor from Guys Hospital has helped me along this journey, and I put my faith into his professional advice.
I’ve seen a lot of people go through chemo and it’s a testament to all the amazing team at Guys that support people going through it.
I had a new sense of appreciation for life on Christmas Eve 2014 when we were told the positive news that my operation was a success. The scans showed that luckily, the cancer had not spread to any other part of my body, and so treatment shouldn’t be needed. I would be closely monitored for the next 5 years, but with that sense of appreciation I felt, it also brought a whole new mindset of challenges - anxiety, at times depression, confidence issues, ones to be fair I don't think I had before that few minutes of bad news at the GP.
Did I have PTSD 1 month, 1 year, 2 years later? Yes I probably did and the best advice I got was to talk to specialists that could help, listen and help me to work on my mental health. This has helped both my wife and I to cope better.
I guess the whole experience I can say has been a rollercoaster of a journey and one I couldn't of got through without the support from my now wife Beth who has been my rock, and my close family and friends.
Life will throw all sorts of challenges at you and like a wise man recently told me (Geoff Thomas, a leukaemia survivor) just look outside and appreciate every single day - we're the lucky ones right now.
Sometimes you need to take these challenges on in life whether you want to or not. I wanted tell my story mainly to create awareness of male cancers - testicular and prostate, as let's face it, us guys are pretty stupid sometimes and just ignore the signs. I nearly did and am fortunate enough to tell this story now, so if you get any symptoms just book an appointment today. For more information on the symptoms checkout: https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/testicular-cancer
I'm eternally grateful to all the support at Guys / St Thomas's Hospital and the Movember team which is why I'm setting up two justgiving links with an aim to raise as much as I can for all the great work they do both on a research level and a care output.
I mentioned life sets you challenges earlier, so I'm going big this month and hitting booze on the head (minus one day, I work in media) and as a penalty I'm giving up sugar for the whole of October. Anyone that knows me will know I love an el vino and chocolate so this is going to be tough.
Adding to this I've set up a team at essence to run 10k around Greenwich park 30th November supporting the Movember awareness whilst rocking out a Mo for 30 days.
Anything you can do to support the charities I will be grateful.
Thanks for reading and hopefully this story will help someone one day.
On a more positive note I'm celebrating my son's 1st birthday tomorrow, what a year it's been.
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of mens health. They address some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. Movember knows what works for men, and how to find and fund the most innovative research to have both a global and local impact. Movember is independent of government funding, so they can challenge the status quo and invest quicker in what works. In 15 years they have funded more than 1,200 mens health projects around the world.By 2030 Movember will work to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.We need to raise vital funds and awareness to keep this good work going.
