Matt Chugg’s ampullary cancer battle

Hi, my name is Matt Chugg I’m 48 years old and I am raising money for life saving cancer treatment in Japan.

This is without doubt the hardest subject I have ever had to write about and perhaps it’s best to start at the beginning in June 2022.

I consider myself a fairly normal person, if you can define normal. I have a beautiful family: a wife, a 5 year old son and a 23 year old step daughter, all alongside a caring extended family and some great friends and colleagues. On second thought lucky as well as normal.

At the beginning of June this year my luck started to turn. I started to feel sick and had some problems with my waterworks. I went to a walk-in GP service and was immediately referred to the A@E with jaundice that I didn’t notice. Inside a week, following urgent scans and tests, I was informed I may have cancer affecting the liver and or pancreas. As you can imagine the bottom dropped out of my world and anyone who has any understanding of cancer knows the likely outcome of pancreatic cancer. My symptoms deteriorated and I started to look like Homer Simpson. Further tests discovered a suspected bilary tract tumour blocking the path to my stomach, hence the jaundice. Luckily, further tests revealed that the disease had not spread and I was suitable for major surgery known as the “Whipple procedure”, which I duly had on 12 July 2022.

I was in theatre for 6 hours for what the surgeon described as the “biggest operation in the book”. I was discharged after 7 days, a week later I returned to hospital for my histology report. The results of which were mixed. The surgeon confirmed I did have a cancer of the Ampulla Vater. On the positive side the cancer was removed. On the negative my local lymph nodes and nervous system had been attacked. I started chemotherapy in September 2022 for at least 6 months.

My surgical recovery is going as well as can be expected. I’m managing to do a little to keep fit but the chemotherapy has been tough. After cycle 2 I was hospitalised for a week and I needed a three week break to recover. My dosage has been reduced and I have just finished cycle 3, this is not great for my reoccurrence prospects.

The last few months have been a real rollercoaster with a tsunami of different emotions, tests, to surgery, to chemotherapy. With time on my hands the worst thing I could have done (but did) was take to the internet seeking information. The prognosis for this cancer is better than pancreatic cancer per se, but there is still a high chance it will reoccur. I don’t mind admitting I am terrified by the thought of return. No matter how positive I try to be, I still cry at the prospect of telling my beautiful little boy I will be going away not to return. I worry about my family because they are financially dependant upon me, it’s all just an absolute nightmare. It feels so unfair, I’m relatively young, I keep reasonably fit and I still love playing football; I’m hoping to indoctrinate my son as a Liverpool fan. The surgeons confirmed that they do not know why this cancer occurs, it’s not due to any known lifestyle factors, I have simply been unlucky.

Instead of feeling down I have attempted to look for solutions to “tip the scales in my favour” and the potential answer is out there in the form of immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy is a vast branch of oncology in its own right. Nationally and internationally there are trials going ahead for cancer vaccines and boosting innate immunity to fighting cancer cells. Regrettably, because I don’t have stage 4 cancer, metastatic disease and or my cancer is very rare (less than 1% of all cancers) I don’t qualify for any UK trials.

This is all very frustrating but there is an alternative, in the form of Adoptive Cell Transfer therapy, specifically Dentritic cell therapy that boosts the immune system to fight cancer cells. This therapy is licenced for use in Japan, the USA and Germany because the science is sound, but it costs money. It is only available on the NHS in limited trial form at the Royal Marsden and I do not qualify. Japan is by far the best option for cost, quality and experience, but even in Japan the cost for the treatment alone is circa £20,000 plus consultations (initial consultation is circa £600) scans, travel and accommodation. In addition, depending upon medical advice treatments such as hyperthermia therapy may be recommended to increase the effectiveness of the primary treatment. Regrettably, this is money I do not have, but I need it to extend my life and selling my body is not a viable option!

Bad jokes aside, I have a window of opportunity now that I may not get again to boost my immune system, by accessing a scientifically proven treatment that may save my life, but I don’t have the money. This is not pseudoscience, mistletoe or cannabis treatment. This is solid evidence based treatment which is not available on the NHS due to cost and lack of domestic trials. Cancer survival rates are significantly higher in Japan, Germany and the USA for a reason. The NHS is wonderful but it has constraints and I do not wish to die because of them.

Like most people I want to see my son grow up, he came along later in life and he is now my reason for everything.

Please, please, please help me realise my dream of being able to support and protect my son, so I can see him grow into a much better person than I could ever be.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate any support, no matter how small, that you can give me and my family. Please help to keep me well and alive long enough to see my son grow up.

By way of note any money raised that is not spent on my treatment or associated expenses will be donated to an alternative cancer charity.