I can’t believe how quick my treatments are and how quickly I get seen.
It was a day just like any other for Peter Burgess until he picked up the phone to wish his brother a happy birthday and realised, he couldn’t speak.
“I was actually going to sing to him, but no words came out and I couldn’t move the fingers in my left hand. I immediately thought I must have had a stroke,” says Peter.
But a series of scans and a biopsy diagnosed lung and liver cancer. “I knew I hadn’t lived the healthiest of lifestyles at times but as every year passed, I thought I must just be lucky. I hadn’t had any symptoms or concerns about my health until then, so finding out I had cancer really knocked me for six.
“The first fortnight was the worst. Your brain goes into overdrive and runs through absolutely everything that could go wrong.
“I went into a bit of a panic and immediately thought about making a bucket list but soon realised it would probably be filled with things I had never wanted to do anyway.
“I didn’t have any desire to swim with sharks before the diagnosis and I still don’t want to now, so I pretty well calmed down about that fairly quickly,” he laughs.
“Then I realised my affairs weren’t in order as I hadn’t made a will, so I was stressing about that and then the original chemotherapy was really harsh and left me feeling so sick that I was often in bed for two weeks out of three. I didn’t feel I had any quality of life.”
Peter’s speech slowly came back and two years later at the age of 56, he says life is a lot better.
Immunotherapy has shrunk both the tumour in his lungs and his liver, and although he knows they can’t be removed, he is thankful that his condition is currently stable.
“It’s hard to know how anyone will respond to something like this until it happens but now, I have got myself into a good routine with lots of support around me and honestly, some days I hardly think about the cancer at all,” he says.
Peter’s original treatment took place at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital which is around 15 miles away from his home. But now he attends the Hope for Tomorrow mobile unit in the Tesco car park in Dereham which is just a mile away.
It’s so close that even if the car broke down, I could probably walk to my appointments.
“The hospital was a very new and lonely experience for me and although the staff were fantastic there was a lot of waiting around as it is a busy place.”
Peter jokes: “I now more or less have my own reserved seat on the mobile unit and the whole process is so much easier. I can’t believe how quick my treatments are and how quickly I get seen. It’s a very impressive set up.
“For me, the unit has got everything I need, and it saves me a 30-mile round trip.
“There’s so little waiting around when I get there and the unit’s driver, Jack, has become my football buddy. We moan together about West Ham. Jack makes the whole experience so much more pleasant for me.
“All the staff there are really lovely. I see a few of the same faces each time and there is an amazingly friendly atmosphere.
“Staff sit and chat with patients and take an interest. Before I started attending the unit I would probably have thought it was a bit of a depressing place, but we don’t all sit around talking about cancer. We chat about absolutely everything under the sun.
“How well England were doing in the Euros was a popular topic when that was happening, but generally, it can be anything from where to eat around Norfolk to what’s been happening in the world that week.
“Everyone has something to offer but equally if no-one wants to chat there’s no pressure. The staff are brilliant at picking up on who wants to be left alone and who would welcome a bit of a banter.
“Most people on the unit are older than me but cancer doesn’t have an age barrier. We can always find some other common ground.
“I am never more than two feet away from someone I can talk to when I go for my treatment, there’s always someone around and someone to ask if I have a silly question or a silly thought.
“It’s a really nice environment. I tend to work out my shopping route around Tesco beforehand so that I can pop in there when my treatment is over and pick up what I need.
“I know it might sound silly, but I really look forward to the day when I have an appointment on the unit. It’s not a chore.
“I can’t think of one reason not to go there for my treatment. It’s just so convenient.
“Nothing ever prepares you for a cancer diagnosis, so anything that helps to make the whole process that bit more bearable has got to get the thumbs up.
“I am so glad the service is there, and I think people should do whatever they can to support it. Anyone who can should try and donate.
“It is such a good service that provides a beacon of light for me in what could otherwise be a very dark time, and for that I am very, very grateful.
“You just can’t beat that one-to-one care and attention. It makes my life so much easier. I honestly can’t fault it.”
Peter attends our mobile cancer care unit which operates in partnership with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Some of their team are shown above, outside their unit, ‘Amara’.
I can’t believe how quick my treatments are and how quickly I get seen.
It was a day just like any other for Peter Burgess until he picked up the phone to wish his brother a happy birthday and realised, he couldn’t speak.
“I was actually going to sing to him, but no words came out and I couldn’t move the fingers in my left hand. I immediately thought I must have had a stroke,” says Peter.
But a series of scans and a biopsy diagnosed lung and liver cancer. “I knew I hadn’t lived the healthiest of lifestyles at times but as every year passed, I thought I must just be lucky. I hadn’t had any symptoms or concerns about my health until then, so finding out I had cancer really knocked me for six.
“The first fortnight was the worst. Your brain goes into overdrive and runs through absolutely everything that could go wrong.
“I went into a bit of a panic and immediately thought about making a bucket list but soon realised it would probably be filled with things I had never wanted to do anyway.
“I didn’t have any desire to swim with sharks before the diagnosis and I still don’t want to now, so I pretty well calmed down about that fairly quickly,” he laughs.
“Then I realised my affairs weren’t in order as I hadn’t made a will, so I was stressing about that and then the original chemotherapy was really harsh and left me feeling so sick that I was often in bed for two weeks out of three. I didn’t feel I had any quality of life.”
Peter’s speech slowly came back and two years later at the age of 56, he says life is a lot better.
Immunotherapy has shrunk both the tumour in his lungs and his liver, and although he knows they can’t be removed, he is thankful that his condition is currently stable.
“It’s hard to know how anyone will respond to something like this until it happens but now, I have got myself into a good routine with lots of support around me and honestly, some days I hardly think about the cancer at all,” he says.
Peter’s original treatment took place at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital which is around 15 miles away from his home. But now he attends the Hope for Tomorrow mobile unit in the Tesco car park in Dereham which is just a mile away.
It’s so close that even if the car broke down, I could probably walk to my appointments.
“The hospital was a very new and lonely experience for me and although the staff were fantastic there was a lot of waiting around as it is a busy place.”
Peter jokes: “I now more or less have my own reserved seat on the mobile unit and the whole process is so much easier. I can’t believe how quick my treatments are and how quickly I get seen. It’s a very impressive set up.
“For me, the unit has got everything I need, and it saves me a 30-mile round trip.
“There’s so little waiting around when I get there and the unit’s driver, Jack, has become my football buddy. We moan together about West Ham. Jack makes the whole experience so much more pleasant for me.
“All the staff there are really lovely. I see a few of the same faces each time and there is an amazingly friendly atmosphere.
Peter attends our mobile cancer care unit which operates in partnership with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Some of their team are shown above, outside their unit, ‘Amara’.
“Staff sit and chat with patients and take an interest. Before I started attending the unit I would probably have thought it was a bit of a depressing place, but we don’t all sit around talking about cancer. We chat about absolutely everything under the sun.
“How well England were doing in the Euros was a popular topic when that was happening, but generally, it can be anything from where to eat around Norfolk to what’s been happening in the world that week.
“Everyone has something to offer but equally if no-one wants to chat there’s no pressure. The staff are brilliant at picking up on who wants to be left alone and who would welcome a bit of a banter.
“Most people on the unit are older than me but cancer doesn’t have an age barrier. We can always find some other common ground.
“I am never more than two feet away from someone I can talk to when I go for my treatment, there’s always someone around and someone to ask if I have a silly question or a silly thought.
“It’s a really nice environment. I tend to work out my shopping route around Tesco beforehand so that I can pop in there when my treatment is over and pick up what I need.
“I know it might sound silly, but I really look forward to the day when I have an appointment on the unit. It’s not a chore.
“I can’t think of one reason not to go there for my treatment. It’s just so convenient.
“Nothing ever prepares you for a cancer diagnosis, so anything that helps to make the whole process that bit more bearable has got to get the thumbs up.
“I am so glad the service is there, and I think people should do whatever they can to support it. Anyone who can should try and donate.
“It is such a good service that provides a beacon of light for me in what could otherwise be a very dark time, and for that I am very, very grateful.
“You just can’t beat that one-to-one care and attention. It makes my life so much easier. I honestly can’t fault it.”
