Fighting back to full fitness after life-changing diagnosis
As a new year gets under way, Advertiser sports reporter Warwick Lane looks ahead with a fresh sense of hope as he reflects on his experiences of 2017 — the year he battled leukaemia.
In hindsight there was little to prepare me for the challenge I would face in 2017.
I was a fit and healthy 24-year-old in the prime of my life. That life would soon be turned upside down.
In April, I visited my doctor after a lengthy spell of breathlessness and low energy, which affected me to the point where walking down the street became a near-impossible task.
I gave a blood sample, and within hours took a phone call from the hospital that no one wants to receive.
Later that evening I was in a bed at Nottingham City Hospital, where a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia was being confirmed.
My bone marrow was producing too many immature white blood cells, in turn stopping the vital red blood cells and platelets from developing effectively.
I tried not to question the random nature of getting leukaemia.
No one knows the causes for certain, and I just had to find a way to accept that I was one of the unfortunate few.
Those first few days were a whirlwind.
A lot of prodding and poking took place to identify exactly what was wrong before I was taken to Fletcher Ward, where I would be treated.
Over the next five months, I received four rounds of chemotherapy, more than 30 blood transfusions and countless bags of antibiotics.
The lowest days came during my second spell in hospital. With my immune system reduced to virtually nothing, I suffered a bad bout of pneumonia.
I spent three weeks connected to an oxygen mask, while doctors and nurses battled to get my temperature below 40 degrees.
There was a long period connected to a machine that needed to be changed every six hours or it would catch fire. The smell of burning filled the room only once.
Every time my condition worsened, the magnificent doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and dietitians on Fletcher Ward would somehow find a way to patch me up.
I was fortunate to see the very best of the NHS during my stay.
Dedicated staff did a fantastic job every day, despite facing ever-increasing pressure.
As the hair loss started, I became one of the few patients to pass out after having their head shaved, and promptly became known as the fainter of the ward.
Another rare injury came from a television remote control, which caused an impressive black eye after I somehow dropped it on my face.
Most days fell into a monotonous pattern. More than a month would be spent recovering in the same room with just the occasional scan providing a change of scenery.
By the end of my treatment I had completed more jigsaws and watched more episodes of Family Fortunes, Bruce’s Price Is Right and Judge Judy than I could care to imagine.
'I was determined to never stop fighting'
My sanity was maintained through my parents, family, friends, and the Advertiser and my work colleagues, who went above and beyond with their support and visits over five months.
I was even able to lead my team to second place in a pub quiz, despite being 25 miles from the Lord Nelson in Sutton-on-Trent, thanks to the use of FaceTime.
I doubt I would have found the strength to get through it without them all. So many people have been with me every step of the way.
I still feel the effects of the treatment and, although it doesn’t take much to make me feel drained, I refuse to be defined by cancer and can feel my fitness improving daily.
In November I travelled to the St George’s Park National Football Centre at Burton-on-Trent with the Teenage Cancer Trust to attend Find Your Sense Of Tumour — a conference for young people dealing with cancer.
Over the course of the weekend I experienced many different emotions and met a lot of inspiring people, and I am starting to cope with life after cancer.
The Teenage Cancer Trust has been amazing from the start of this journey, and provided me and so many other young cancer sufferers with hope.
When entries for the Newark Half-marathon open on Sunday, I will be one of the first to sign up so I can start to raise money and give something back.
Despite many difficult days, I was determined to never stop fighting, and since the diagnosis there has not been a moment when I did not believe I would get better.
My latest tests showed all the blood counts going in the right direction, and I live in hope that the improvement continues.
I am so grateful for the kindness and messages of support I have received, particularly those from the world of sport.
Now I am back at work, the best way I can say thank you is by providing the best coverage to all the sports teams and stars in and around Newark as I possibly can.
The year 2017 will go down in my personal history as the year I was diagnosed with leukaemia. More importantly, however, I will look back on it as the year I beat leukaemia.
To support the Teenage Cancer Trust visit www.justgiving.com/warwick-lane
