Celebrate Your Cancerversary! Tom's Story

In this episode Charlotte & Greg talk to Tom, who had just started University when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Thankfully, his prognosis was good and after chemotherapy and radiotherapy he went into remission.
However, being diagnosed with cancer at a young age had such a profound influence on his life, it lead him to a career in medicine.
At first, he thought he would become an oncologist, but later realised that psychiatry was the right path for him.
This is very apt because Tom certainly felt that the cancer had a far more major impact on his mental welfare than his physical one.
Something Tom wishes that he knew when he was going through it was that he was not alone. He did not discover there was so much great charity support for cancer sufferers, especially younger patients, until much later.
He would encourage others to get involved with the Teenage Caner Trust. In particular, Macmillan Cancer Support has been of major assistance in helping him deal with the late and phycological affects of surviving cancer.
Tom also attended cognitive behavioural therapy through his local GP and would encourage anyone who is struggling with their mental health to seek help as soon as possible. 1 in 4 of us suffer from some form of mental illness in our lives but it is very treatable.
Many years on, Tom now likes to celebrate every year he is cancer free and calls this his cancerversary. He’d encourage others to do the same!
If you or someone you know is suffering from mental health issues caused by cancer please contact:
https://www.macmillan.org.uk
https://www.teenagecancertrust.org
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/overview