Paul’s breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
Paul was on holiday when he noticed a hard pea-sized lump behind his nipple. After going to his GP in August 2023, he was diagnosed with primary breast cancer, grade 3, with the highest estrogen receptor score.
He said ‘It was a shock to be diagnosed with a type of cancer that rarely affects men.’ Paul went on to have a full mastectomy with three sentinel lymph nodes removed. The tumour had grown to the size of a large cherry (20mm). “It was also a relief to learn that a good amount of clear margin of tissue surrounded the lesion once the mastectomy had been examined.”
Six weeks after surgery Paul took a trip to Turkey with his wife, before embarking on EC chemotherapy. As a Vicar at the time, the hospital was able to schedule chemotherapy sessions around Christmas and Easter so that he could continue his work.
With regard to Paul’s experience of chemotherapy he said “I reckon to have got off fairly lightly with my reactions. I didn’t experience nausea, but I did have brain fog, fatigue, taste loss, and, most troublesome, quite bad hiccups”.
After three cycles and carefully tracking his symptoms, Paul’s wife noticed he was displaying signs of confusion, of which he was not aware himself. “The oncologist was both patient and decisive. He decided to stop my chemo cycles at that stage as the disadvantages were now outweighing the benefits of treatment. I was anxious in case I should be showing early signs of dementia”. This was however directly caused by the EC – particularly as it affects the endocrine system. Paul now takes Tamoxifen and will be on this for 5 years.
What Paul said about his gift Box:
When Paul received his Little Lifts Box, it made him feel “positive, cared for and thought about by non-medical people” “Keep up the good work! It really does provide a “lift” to receive a box of lovely goodies of various kinds. It helps with the mental side of recovering from cancer – a positive attitude has psychosomatic effects.” Paul added “I still have items that I have not thrown away, even through a house move… and on reflection, this is so that I can be in touch with the positive feelings that I felt when I received the Box during a dark time”.
More about Paul:
Paul is now spreading the word on breast cancer amongst men. He reported to us “I was especially keen to advise men to be more body aware and not to forget to check their boobs – we so often obsess about the other end of our torsos!’
We recently met Paul at our first-ever Little Kindness Fund Focus Group, which brought people affected by breast cancer together from across the UK. He is a retired vicar, a volunteer for an academic committee and got a doctorate aged 59. He and his wife have a big family with 4 sons, 11 grandchildren and a great grandchild. He loves gardening with his wife, spending time at their holiday home in Turkey, cooking curries, reading, classical music and has been on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela several times – he hopes to do this more in the future!
Thank you so much for sharing your story and experience with others, helping to spread support and kindness. Your kind words about your Little Lifts Gift Box mean so much to us!
We appreciate you helping us to spread the Little Lifts love to people affected by breast cancer. If you would like to share your story, please email us at social@littlelifts.org.uk.