February 2024 is Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month.

February also marks a year since the beginning of my own personal journey.

My name is Bal Banwait, I am 53 years old, and I have Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer).

In February 2023 I was a normal, active 52 year-old family man going about my daily business - working full-time, going for weekend walks with my wife and two daughters, playing golf when I could but very badly, and pottering around in my garden attempting to grow chillies and tomatoes.

However around this time, I had started to notice increasing tiredness and also unexpected weight loss.

Around the same time I went for a routine annual medical assessment, and this highlighted two things I hadn’t come across in my previous medicals. The doctor said my liver function (blood) test was abnormal and that the qFIT test results identified a high blood-count in my stools.

I also continued to notice rapid weight loss, loss of appetite, going to bed earlier than I used to, and increasing fatigue in daily routines.

As a result of the qFIT test results, I underwent an endoscopy and colonoscopy. As I came round from the anaesthetic I remember my consultant telling me that I was very lucky as they didn’t find anything of concern.

Initially I was relieved but then that didn’t explain the blood in my stools and the continued weight loss. My consultant recommended further full bloods tests and a scan of the abdomen just to be sure. Whilst my blood tests came back clear, there are no early detection tests for Cholangiocarcinoma, and this is a major focus of research funding for AMMF.

After several scans and a biopsy, In May 2023 I was referred to my consultant oncologist who diagnosed me with Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer) that had spread to my liver. Cholangiocarcinoma typically displays symptoms once it has spread.

I was fortunate to have started on a treatment plan soon after diagnosis. Currently I’ve been through nine months of varied treatments, with yet more to go. Overall this has severely impacted my stamina and I suffer daily from fatigue. However I remain as active as I can, listening to my body, as my oncologist advises that exercise and activity will counteract the fatigue.

I have been blessed with a significant amount of support around me (emotionally, medically, physically and mentally) from my immediate family and friends, my oncology team, the GP practice, my employer, the local hospice and AMMF’s resources.

I battled for a long time with telling people about my diagnosis and initially I wanted to keep this just to my immediate family and friends.

However, having learnt more about Cholangiocarcinoma, I feel that the importance of raising awareness of this lesser known and lesser understood cancer far out-weighs my initial desire to keep this private, and I feel compelled to want to do something to increase awareness whilst raising funds for the several charities that have helped me through my cancer journey.

Furthermore, there are no early detection tests for Cholangiocarcinoma and it typically displays symptoms once it has spread. Consequently the importance of awareness and spotting early signs, including encouraging people to embrace tests (e.g medical check-ups, qFIT tests and blood tests) that are advised by medical professionals and to seek all answers to any concerns you have no matter how small, is ever so more paramount.

Please feel free to share my story with your friends, family and network as it may trigger that thought that encourages you and/or one of them to seek advice and/or help if they notice similar symptoms. I know it is cliche, but if my story helps just one person, then I’ll feel I have fulfilled my goal.

The Challenge

I’ve always enjoyed walking and regularly walked on a daily basis, with some longer treks over weekends away with a couple of walking buddies. At present I try to get out for a walk as often as I can, but I’m not quite as fast and not able to walk the distance I used to. That said, keeping up my physical strength has helped me both mentally and physically in building strength and stamina to cope with the treatment plans.

My walking buddies and I had planned to walk Hadrians Wall at some point. The Hadrian's Wall Path is an 90 mile long National Trail, stretching coast to coast across northern England, from Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast, and typically takes a fit person 6 to 8 days to complete.

Whilst I’m unable to walk Hadrians Wall just now, I can do this “virtually”, and on 19th February 2024 I started walking this 90 miles distance in daily stages to coincide with Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month. I’m not sure how long this will take me, but I’ll be walking as often as I can manage in order to complete the distance!

My progress is tracked by “The Conqueror Challenges” app with regular updates of the distance travelled, which I'll share on the individual JustGiving pages for the charities (https://www.justgiving.com/page/balwinder-banwait-1708181696165 or https://www.justgiving.com/page/balwinder-banwait-1708181985644) so please keep checking in to see the distance I have “virtually” walked.

The Charities

There are two fantastic charities that have been an extremely valuable and helpful knowledge source and have helped me and my family with a better understanding of my cancer, the treatment plans, general advice and counselling:

(1) AMMF (https://ammf.org.uk) is UK’s only Cholangiocarcinoma charity, and have helped me to better understand my cancer and what I should expect in the each treatment plan.

(2) South Bucks Hospice (https://sbh.org.uk) based at Butterfly House, High Wycombe provides a range of free specialist care on an outpatient basis. This includes counselling, physiotherapy, complimentary therapy, and rehabilitation.

How can you help?

(1) Sponsor me and choose how you want to allocate your donation to each of the charities I am supporting. To do this, once you have decided on your donation and allocation, you will need to click on the respective charity page links below and enter your donation allocation for AMMF and then for South Bucks Hospice.

(2) Spread the word to your network on social media so we can increase awareness of Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile-Duct Cancer) and raise as much as possible for the charities.

Your sponsorship and support in this walking challenge will help me hold myself accountable to get fit, stay fit and fight the fatigue!!

I wouldn't ordinarily reach out to my network in this way, but the importance of raising awareness of this, and all cancers means a lot to me. Let's collectively test the theory of the "seven degrees of separation" and see how far we can spread the awareness of Cholangiocarcinoma!

Thank you for your support.

Bal