I had no idea it was going to be the lifeline that it has been for me.
After serving 25-years in the Coldstream Guards including several active tours in Northern Ireland and Sarajevo there’s not much that fazes Stan Jackson.
But finding out overnight that he had Stage 4 cancer, despite experiencing minimal symptoms, was a huge shock, and it was the start of a five-year journey where he has undergone a series of different medical treatments.
“I went to my GP as I had been having stomach cramps,” says Stan.
“I had suffered from diverticulitis in the past, and I just thought it had come back. But my GP was sufficiently worried to book me in for a colonoscopy, which required me to take a laxative the night before the appointment.
“The first one didn’t work, so I took another, and that didn’t work either, but the same night, I woke up and started vomiting violently. My son rushed me to hospital, where an X-ray showed I had a total blockage of the colon, and two hours later, I was undergoing surgery.”
Two more tumours were then discovered and Stan was given the devastating news that his cancer was inoperable. He was offered a course of immunotherapy and chemotherapy at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, around 20 minutes from where he lives in Stowmarket.
“This part of East Anglia is very rural and there was no way I could drive myself, so I was reliant on my two sons, my nephew and my former work colleague, Peter, to take me to my appointments, which lasted for several hours. It was hugely stressful not knowing if they would be available or able to get away from work or not. Then there was the added worry about not being able to find a parking space when we did get to the hospital.
“It’s a big ask really and although they were all more than willing to help out, I couldn’t help feeling anxious about it,” says Stan.
So, when after a few sessions at the hospital Stan was asked if he would like to continue his treatment on the mobile cancer care unit less than two miles from his home he jumped at the opportunity.
The unit operates from the Tesco car park on Tuesdays, and that very much became my home from home one day a fortnight for a long time.
“It has been a fantastic service for me. I would spend most of the day there in and out of sleep, having double infusions, so I got to know a lot of people who would come and go during my session. The staff there are absolutely brilliant.
“Because it is a more relaxed environment than a busy hospital where staff are rushed off their feet, the patients on the unit really do get the personal touch. I have got to know so many people, patients and staff. It’s a bit like an extended family. You get to know all about their lives, their hobbies and their families, and they get to know you really well too.
“My sessions took a long time, so it was reassuring to see the same faces and to be able to catch up on their lives. It does help to take the sting out of an otherwise horrible situation. No one wants to be in that position, so anything that helps to make it more bearable is a benefit.
Stan visits his local mobile cancer care unit, ‘Frisbey’.
“It definitely helps being in a more casual environment. It’s so much easier to relax into the treatment.
“I hadn’t really taken much notice of the unit before. I thought that maybe it offered a breast screening service. I had no idea it was going to be the lifeline that it has been for me.”
Unfortunately, the immunotherapy and chemotherapy stopped working for Stan, so he was referred to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge for a course of radiotherapy.
Stan is now attending the mobile unit again once a month the have the port in his chest flushed and for his blood tests.
“Even if there was no one to drive me, it would be very inexpensive to get a taxi down there. I couldn’t take a taxi all the way to Bury St Edmunds and back if I needed to go there for regular treatment,” says Stan.
A keen former cyclist, Stan was working for an undertaker before his diagnosis and had to retire three years earlier than his official retirement date and he says he is not very mobile these days.
“We had big plans after my wife, Sandra, retired. I was going to take my foot off the gas, and we were planning to maybe move to Spain for the winter, where the climate is kinder. But the cost of travel insurance has made that impossible and since my last scan showed the cancer seems to have spread to my liver and bowel, I wouldn’t want to be away from home now for so long, “says Stan.
“Instead, we are making the best of the beautiful countryside we have on our doorstep. Despite everything that has happened, I do feel very lucky. Had I not gone to the hospital as an emergency case I have been told the blockage on my bowel may well have burst and I could have died from sepsis.
“But I have had five years since then with my family, including my four grandchildren, so I am determined to make every minute count.”
Stan’s family have strong military links, his two sons have also served in the armed forces in both the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Engineers, so he was always an active fundraiser and supporter of the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
Now, he and Sandra have also taken Hope for Tomorrow to their heart and have set up a regular monthly donation to the charity.
Stan says: “I wish I could do some active fundraising for these units but I am not physically able to do that. Sandra and I had big plans for our retirement. We had no idea what was around the corner, no one does, so I would say to anyone who finds themselves in a position to help raise funds, however small, they should go for it.
“You never know when you might need to use one of these units. It really is the most brilliant service. I cannot recommend it enough. It doesn’t seem right that something that helps so many people and does such an important job should have to rely on charity and fundraising.
“But until that can be reviewed, everyone should do what they can to support it. I have found it invaluable.”
I had no idea it was going to be the lifeline that it has been for me.
After serving 25-years in the Coldstream Guards including several active tours in Northern Ireland and Sarajevo there’s not much that fazes Stan Jackson.
But finding out overnight that he had Stage 4 cancer, despite experiencing minimal symptoms, was a huge shock, and it was the start of a five-year journey where he has undergone a series of different medical treatments.
“I went to my GP as I had been having stomach cramps,” says Stan.
“I had suffered from diverticulitis in the past, and I just thought it had come back. But my GP was sufficiently worried to book me in for a colonoscopy, which required me to take a laxative the night before the appointment.
“The first one didn’t work, so I took another, and that didn’t work either, but the same night, I woke up and started vomiting violently. My son rushed me to hospital, where an X-ray showed I had a total blockage of the colon, and two hours later, I was undergoing surgery.”
Two more tumours were then discovered and Stan was given the devastating news that his cancer was inoperable. He was offered a course of immunotherapy and chemotherapy at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, around 20 minutes from where he lives in Stowmarket.
“This part of East Anglia is very rural and there was no way I could drive myself, so I was reliant on my two sons, my nephew and my former work colleague, Peter, to take me to my appointments, which lasted for several hours. It was hugely stressful not knowing if they would be available or able to get away from work or not. Then there was the added worry about not being able to find a parking space when we did get to the hospital.
“It’s a big ask really and although they were all more than willing to help out, I couldn’t help feeling anxious about it,” says Stan.
So, when after a few sessions at the hospital Stan was asked if he would like to continue his treatment on the mobile cancer care unit less than two miles from his home he jumped at the opportunity.
The unit operates from the Tesco car park on Tuesdays, and that very much became my home from home one day a fortnight for a long time.
“It has been a fantastic service for me. I would spend most of the day there in and out of sleep, having double infusions, so I got to know a lot of people who would come and go during my session. The staff there are absolutely brilliant.
“Because it is a more relaxed environment than a busy hospital where staff are rushed off their feet, the patients on the unit really do get the personal touch. I have got to know so many people, patients and staff. It’s a bit like an extended family. You get to know all about their lives, their hobbies and their families, and they get to know you really well too.
“My sessions took a long time, so it was reassuring to see the same faces and to be able to catch up on their lives. It does help to take the sting out of an otherwise horrible situation. No one wants to be in that position, so anything that helps to make it more bearable is a benefit.
Stan visits his local mobile cancer care unit, ‘Frisbey’.
“It definitely helps being in a more casual environment. It’s so much easier to relax into the treatment.
“I hadn’t really taken much notice of the unit before. I thought that maybe it offered a breast screening service. I had no idea it was going to be the lifeline that it has been for me.”
Unfortunately, the immunotherapy and chemotherapy stopped working for Stan, so he was referred to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge for a course of radiotherapy.
Stan is now attending the mobile unit again once a month the have the port in his chest flushed and for his blood tests.
“Even if there was no one to drive me, it would be very inexpensive to get a taxi down there. I couldn’t take a taxi all the way to Bury St Edmunds and back if I needed to go there for regular treatment,” says Stan.
A keen former cyclist, Stan was working for an undertaker before his diagnosis and had to retire three years earlier than his official retirement date and he says he is not very mobile these days.
“We had big plans after my wife, Sandra, retired. I was going to take my foot off the gas, and we were planning to maybe move to Spain for the winter, where the climate is kinder. But the cost of travel insurance has made that impossible and since my last scan showed the cancer seems to have spread to my liver and bowel, I wouldn’t want to be away from home now for so long, “says Stan.
“Instead, we are making the best of the beautiful countryside we have on our doorstep. Despite everything that has happened, I do feel very lucky. Had I not gone to the hospital as an emergency case I have been told the blockage on my bowel may well have burst and I could have died from sepsis.
“But I have had five years since then with my family, including my four grandchildren, so I am determined to make every minute count.”
Stan’s family have strong military links, his two sons have also served in the armed forces in both the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Engineers, so he was always an active fundraiser and supporter of the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
Now, he and Sandra have also taken Hope for Tomorrow to their heart and have set up a regular monthly donation to the charity.
Stan says: “I wish I could do some active fundraising for these units but I am not physically able to do that. Sandra and I had big plans for our retirement. We had no idea what was around the corner, no one does, so I would say to anyone who finds themselves in a position to help raise funds, however small, they should go for it.
“You never know when you might need to use one of these units. It really is the most brilliant service. I cannot recommend it enough. It doesn’t seem right that something that helps so many people and does such an important job should have to rely on charity and fundraising.
“But until that can be reviewed, everyone should do what they can to support it. I have found it invaluable.”
