Lets Beat Cancer

Hi! My name’s Mathew and I was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, which is a rare cancer of the bone or soft tissue. I had to put my job and dreams on hold and focus on getting through a year of aggressive treatment. I’d been having a lot of stomach aches but when they became almost constant I went to see my GP. I had a load of examinations, tests and scans and eventually they found a lump. An MRI scan showed it was in the soft tissue between my bowel and bladder. A biopsy followed, confirming it was cancer."  I remember thinking, this is it. I'm going to die.I had a large number of friends and family members who helped me through this. Too many to list individually here without it reading like a phone book, but they know who they are and I hope they all realise just how much their love, care and support meant to me. I wouldn’t have been able to face this without them.  Once a month we used to plan something I could look forward to; seeing a show, going out for the day; it helped immensely. Spending time with my friends and family and talking about anything but cancer helped me to forget about it for just a few hours. Putting a brave face on for people takes a lot of energy, it’s emotionally draining.  It’s never going to be out of my life.  I’ve had it, it’s been taken away, it’s over; but it’s never going to be gone, the emotional and physical scars will always be with me. I’m determined to make something positive out of my experience and if writing this story helps one person then something good will come of it. Positive things have come out of it for me also; I appreciate the simpler things in life more and things don’t worry me as much as they used to. It’s helped me to recognise just how lucky I am to still be here. I feel very blessed indeed.  Now I'm in remission, I'd love to be able to give something Back to my favourite charity Cancer Research UK. Unfortunately because of the aggressive nature of the treatment I endured, I’m not in a position to be able to do anything too physical at the moment.   This money will go towards helping other teenagers and young adults like me, who are suffering from cancer right now. Thanks to Cancer Research Uk I had the most amazing support around me. I know that there are lots of young people struggling to cope on their own because they don’t have Cancer Trust services in their area. By making a donation, you can help make sure they are afforded the same level of comfort and support that I had. Your support will also make sure that those who are not as fortunate as me, are able to live out their last days in a place of friendship and comfort. Thank you, Mathew