Phil and his young family

This is my story.

Back in the summer of 2019 I was diagnosed with Chronic Bronchitis

interstitial lung disease after coughing up blood clot from my lung.

Shortly after this diagnosis I developed chronic pain and it wasn’t until 2021 that I was diagnosed with a spinal disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis. This debilitating condition restricted my day-to-day life and had a significant negative effect on family life. Later in the summer of 2021 I was introduced to a miracle drug which allowed me to be myself once again which restored the once lost happiness and joy of our family unit.

Then in November 2022 after my annual CT scan to monitor my lung disease I was dealt another blow when told that they had found a large nodule which turned to be a cancerous tumour. Once again, life was turned upside down.

Papworth Hospital monitored me closely with regular checks until they saw that the one nodules had developed into four. Soon after in the January of 2023 I was taken in for surgery to remove the tumours. Thankfully the surgery was success and recovery was fast, and after a couple of weeks of recovery I felt good. That was until February 2023 when during a meeting with the medical team at Papworth I was then told that the cancer was Malt Lymphoma (cancer of the blood) and now its still ongoing.

Throughout these years I have been extremely positive, strong, happy but mentally drained. The one thing that has kept me going is seeing everyone around me happy and having fun. From Angela smiling and laughing and spending more time with her on our own to the children going swimming, playing football and going out for walks. I also take a lot of satisfaction from the community that surround me and all the children in the Magpies. Seeing them playing the game that they love on lovely pitches, having the best equipment and kits and loving life.

Makes life worth living for. Keep Smiling and as my old mate tells me “Stay Lucky!”

Saying all of that, however, I am now restricted with work and it is stressful and a worry to think about the future bills, medical appointments, childcare, transportation costs etc.

We are concerned what impact such financial stress may have on my rehabilitation and fight with this cancer and just want to be able to enjoy my family as much as I can and as stress free as possible.