Chris Boyd's Story
I was diagnosed with Terry in February, 2009.
Terry was my name for my tumour. A spindle celled, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. He was a table-tennis ball sized cancer growing in the middle of my head and had been giving me worsening pain for months.
I first noticed something wasn’t right when I had trouble hearing my mate call me out in the surf. Weeks later, I developed a sore inner ear and I could hear a loud pulsing noise every minute I was awake.
Terry had been silently growing in me and I had no idea. When I was diagnosed I knew something was seriously wrong when a biopsy confirmed I had an aggressive, rare and virtually inoperable tumour.
No doctor can tell me what caused this disease, normally found only in young children, to show up in a fit and healthy 20-year-old. I had to get on with the job of getting better. I knew it was going to be tough but I resolved to stay positive and focus on the good news I was given.
This decision was one of the most important I made.
After innumerable appointments and scans, I started my road to recovery at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. I was up against 4 months of chemotherapy and 7 weeks of concurrent radiotherapy. Some made you just feel tired or a bit queasy, others were worse.
After a few cycles I became used to how the chemo affected my body and the impact didn’t come as a surprise. I became mentally stronger. I found a defiant attitude kept me coming back every week for the next injection. Every time I received news that Terry was coping worse with the chemo than I was - I felt recharged.
One of the benefits of being diagnosed with cancer as a young adult was that my body was able to handle the rigours of chemo a lot better than an older person. Joking with the nurses, my family and my wonderful girlfriend also gave me the extra mental strength to stay as happy as possible despite having so many challenges to overcome.
Around a month into my chemotherapy, I started 7 weeks (31 sessions) of radiotherapy to my face and neck. I had heard bad things about secondary cancers caused by radiotherapy treatment and so I made sure to ask my doctor’s that this was absolutely necessary.
My radio oncologist explained it to me like this: if chemotherapy is the treatment that makes Terry go away, then radiotherapy is the restraining order that prevents him from coming back. I had to have it. And I’m glad I did.
So I trusted my doctor and received daily sessions of radiation.
The radiation was specifically targeted at my tumour and I remember thinking that the technology was amazing and how lucky I was to be spared not only much unnecessary radiation but also devastating facial surgery that was the norm for treating such tumours in the past.
Whilst each dose was completely painless, over the course of 7 weeks the treatment took its toll. I gradually developed painful sores on my tongue and scarring on the roof of my mouth which all but prevented me from eating. I lost a lot of weight and couldn’t wait to be back on my regime of straight chemo.
In June 2009, my combined treatment regime came to an end. By this point I was a lot skinnier, I had a lot less hair but most importantly – the cancer was gone.
Terry had been totally dissolved by the chemo and radiotherapy. I couldn’t have been happier and I felt as though my hard fought positivity had paid off.
I have now been cancer-free for over two years.
Since completing my treatment life has been different and at times difficult. To a greater extent however, I believe it has made me stronger and more determined to live to my fullest potential without fear.
The treatment that saved me was not available 30 years ago. The investment in research that has gone on since is responsible for saving countless lives.
It will be the research that goes on today that saves the lives of others in 30 years time. Without the money and facilities to bring about this research then it will not happen and people will die. We need to provide the brilliant doctors and researchers with the best opportunity to find better forms of treatment and cures for all types of cancer.
Through Australian Youth Against Cancer, I hope we can contribute to this vital process of investment and research and ultimately provide those diagnosed in the future with an immovable positivity.
