Mr DD, 71, had returned to normal life after he’d had surgery to remove a colorectal cancer 5 years previously. He’d recently retired and was now spending most of his time renovating his house in France. The only reminder of his previous cancer treatment was the tingling he still experienced in his fingers during cold weather – something he’s had since the chemotherapy he received after his surgery.
Finding out that he had three small lung nodules on a scan arranged by his oncologist at the 5 year mark was a major blow. At our first meeting, I could see his mood was low and he was anxious about what the future might hold.
I arranged a PET scan for the next day, and a biopsy later that week confirmed that the nodules were a recurrence of his colon cancer. He’d already discussed his systemic therapy (medication) options, but was keen to hold off on these for the time being – not least because he wanted to spend as much time in France as he could renovating his house while he felt so well.
After a discussion about stereotactic radiotherapy, he decided this was the treatment for him. We performed a radiotherapy planning scan and then he returned to France while I worked to personalise the treatment for him – to target the cancer deposits, while avoiding the normal parts of the body.
A week after the planning CT, he returned to London and received the 5 radiotherapy treatments on alternate days, over the course of a week and a half. The hospital provided hotel accommodation for him close by, and he made the most of his time in London! He walked through Hyde Park every day, met friends for dinner and went to the theatre and cinema with his wife.
When I spoke with him a week after the treatment had finished, he was feeling slightly more tired than usual and had noticed that he had a mild cough after he had dashed up the stairs. He had caught the train back to France and had been able to work in the garden which gave him great pleasure.
Three years on, we’re keeping an eye on him with scans. Thankfully, the cancer has not returned, and he hasn’t needed any further treatment. At each appointment with me, he shows me photos of his renovation project – the house in France looks magnificent. I keep dropping hints about various DIY tasks I need help with, but whenever I do, he seems to think that I’m joking…