Wessex Cancer Support is the glue that holds us together

For Pete, a 42-year-old self-employed father of four, cancer came out of the blue and left him feeling helpless and vulnerable. He shares how our support has helped him and his family cope.

It was the lowest point of my life

“When I went to visit my GP in November 2023, I felt suicidal. Mentally, I’d given up after being told that I had terminal cancer and that I probably had about ten years to live. As a 42-year-old self-employed father of four, my life had become unrecognisable. I felt so depressed that I stopped washing and dressing.

“Cancer came out of the blue. I’d been laying on the sofa one evening and started to feel really uncomfortable. It felt like trapped wind, so I took indigestion medicine. A few hours later, the pain was so unbearable that I passed out and was admitted to A&E. I was later diagnosed with a tumour that had perforated the lining of my bowel. It had probably been there for more than a year, but there had been no symptoms. I had 40% of my bowel removed, and scans showed that it had spread to my intestines and liver. I couldn’t eat or drink and spent two weeks in hospital attached to intravenous drips.

Wessex Cancer Support has turned my life around

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so helpless and vulnerable, and those feelings hit me hard. My GP referred me to Wessex Cancer Support and I met with Phil, the charity’s wellbeing coordinator, who suggested a combination of things that might help, but I was sceptical and didn’t turn up for my first counselling appointment. My counsellor got in touch, and I’m so glad she did because it’s turned my life around, and Reiki has helped me enormously. My cancer can’t be cured. I have to take medication every day and will need to have more procedures, but Wessex Cancer Support has helped me to get to such a better place and accept that any feelings are OK. Thanks to them, I’ve gone back to work and am living a relatively normal life. As a family, I think Wessex Cancer Support has been the glue that’s held us together because they’ve helped us all in different ways and to come through this together.

Give it a chance

“If, like me, you’re feeling sceptical about accessing support, I would say give it a chance. You might not know you need support until you ask. I’m proud of the steps I’ve taken.”