Living with Purpose: Lynda’s Journey with Cancer
This Love your Lungs Week we spoke with Lynda, a patient of ours with an inspirational attitude towards living with cancer.
For Lynda, her symptoms were multi-faceted - including vision problems, confusion/disorientation, difficulty breathing easily when walking uphill despite swimming multiple times a week- so it wasn’t clear at first how all the symptoms were all connected.
Being in her 60’s she put some things down to age, while she thought others were related to recent stress around her husband Michael’s own cancer diagnosis, and the passing of her Mum.
“My family noticed my behaviour, was a bit off. Then I noticed I couldn’t do my button on my dressing gown, and I couldn't do up my bra. I didn't think much of it. Then I went for a short walk to the local supermarket, and ended up completely disoriented. I haven't got a great sense of direction, but this was bordering on ridiculous.”
Encouraged to go to the GP by her husband, she had scans which revealed a significant brain tumour, which had metastasised from her lungs and spread also to her adrenal gland and liver.
“I was told that I had a brain tumour, which was eight and a half centimetres and the shape of a pear, but that the primary cancer needed to be identified”
Facing this news, Lynda said, “It was a shock, but I just thought ‘Okay, well come on, let’s just deal with this. What’s the next step?’.”
Following surgery at another hospital, Lynda was recommended to come to The London Clinic for cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, which she calls her ‘amber nectar’ and immunotherapy.
At The London Clinic she’s under the care of an expert multidisciplinary team including Dr Dionysis Papadatos-Pastos, Consultant Medical Oncologist, who she says has been “unbelievably fantastic”, with a positive attitude to match her own.
Lynda says, “I've never felt sick from the chemotherapy, immunotherapy or the radiotherapy. Actually, I feel really lucky. Sometimes I just feel quite tired for the first couple of days after treatment.”
“The London Clinic has been absolutely fantastic. I'm in a private room, and it truly feels like being in a hotel. The caring of the nurses is unbelievable, and they always recognise me and come in to chat.”
While in at the Clinic receiving treatment, Lynda has been busy working on an exciting personal project, which she can’t wait to share with the world.
She is curating a colourful book of postcards filled with anonymous messages and drawings contributed by fellow cancer patients, their loved ones, her family and friends, as well as nurses and staff from the hospital – telling the story of living with cancer, the challenges, positive thoughts and emotions across the spectrum that come with that.
“People still have this huge fear about cancer, and I don't have it,” she says. “I think that that is the most important thing, not to be frightened. I'm on treatment for the rest of my life. That's the way it is, but self pity won’t get me anywhere. I only choose to surround myself with others who are positive as well,” says Lynda.
Once published proceeds from Lynda’s book will raise money for various cancer charities.
