Transport Boss Goes Public On Cancer For Movember
Chris Calvi Freeman shares his experience, urges men to take care of their health
Local resident and long-standing contributor to the Chiswick and Brentford forums, Chris Calvi-Freeman, has chosen Movember to reveal that he has prostate cancer.
Chris, who is Head of Transport at Hounslow Council, was diagnosed with locally-advanced cancer in October 2011 and underwent a robotic prostatectomy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in January. He is currently completing a six week course of daily radiotherapy.
"The past twelve months have been pretty challenging and I've certainly learnt a lot about a subject I'd previously given no thought to"' said Chris in a recent interview with Chiswickw4.com. "I've been through all the emotions that occur when bad news is received – I think the only stage I didn't linger on was denial!" he said.
"No-one ever forgets the day when they were first told that they have cancer, but everyone reacts differently. I stumbled through the streets of central London for an hour in complete shock, before calling in on my wife at her workplace to break the news. Then I got on the tube and went back to work."
"Some people in similar situations choose to clam up. I decided that there was no point in keeping mum about the issue, especially as I had to rearrange a number of commitments in order to take further tests. I let my colleagues know, and very quickly confirmed that I have a great bunch of friends at work. The support and encouragement of my family, friends and workmates has been critical to the preservation of my sanity and my ability to stay upbeat (almost all of the time) and just get on with life."
"Cancer, like other major setbacks, is often what happens to "other people". But I'm sure there must be several dozen cancer patients amongst the Chiswickw4 crowd, many of whom may be keeping this illness to themselves. I hope that by “going public” I can encourage other middle-aged men, in particular, to take more notice of possible health concerns."
"If you think you might be developing prostate cancer (perhaps you've noticed a change to how frequently you need to "take a leak"), then get yourself off to your GP ASAP. The initial tests are very straightforward. If you do have this surprisingly common disease, the earlier it's diagnosed the greater the range of treatment options and the better the chance of a complete cure."
November 19, 2012