Jeremy is a Chartered Accountant who was Finance Director for a group of companies. He and his wife Janie, a tennis coach at Godolphin and Farleigh Schools, have three grown-up children. Their eldest daughter is getting married in May.
In 2000, Jeremy was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma (a type of cancer also called Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma or NHL), and he has been in the care of the Pembroke Unit at Salisbury District Hospital since then. In that time he’s had a number of check-ups that involved the use of the CT scanner.
Jeremy says, “The tumours were evident around my neck but it was not possible for the specialist to determine the full extent of the disease in my body without the assistance of the CT scanner. At first, the CT scans were to find exactly where other tumours might be. Importantly these early scans also enabled the specialist to determine the most appropriate course of treatment.
Over several years I underwent a number of courses of chemotherapy. Initially they were fairly benign and effective but the courses had to be repeated after twelve to eighteen months as gradually their effectiveness reduced.
CT scans played an important part in monitoring the disease and how I was progressing, although certain tumours were self-evident either visually or by touch. There is always the concern with NHL that tumours can develop in places such as the abdomen that are not so easy to identify and might only become evident at an advanced stage. So the advantage of the CT scanner is that you are able to get an early identification of such a problem.”
Jeremy has been having CT scans throughout his treatment, and remembers, “In the early days, 12 or 13 years ago, it was a fairly lengthy process. It didn’t bother me unduly but now the latest generation of CT scanner is a significant improvement. The sheer speed with which one can be in and out means it’s completely unstressful. It’s an easy thing to do. For me, the speed and ease with which the CT scan can be done is a significant benefit.”
Jeremy’s illness and treatment mean he’s been largely unaffected by the inconvenience of NHL, which is not aggressive, and he finds his low-grade version totally manageable. However, as with many cancer patients his immune system is weak and has been compromised by the chemotherapy. He has only just recovered after three years of intestinal problems involving long months in hospital.
He says, “I’m now fully recovered and life is great again.”
Jeremy has long been a supporter of the Pembroke Unit and now he’s putting his energy into the Stars Appeal CT Scanner Campaign.
He says, “When I first heard about the new campaign to provide a second scanner with the very latest technology I wanted to find a way to help raise the funds for it.
I’m helping because of the comfort and confidence one gets from knowing that one has extraordinarily skilled people in a really good department and that they have really good equipment. I think that combination is of tremendous value to us as a community.
It takes the worry and stress out of it when you know you’re getting spot-on, pinpoint treatment for your problem with a good, well equipped team. As a patient, you get much greater peace of mind.
I think as a department and as a hospital they’re great to support. I can see the value for the community. I’m aware of the potential exposure of having just one machine and how dramatically that would affect the community should that machine fail. The alternatives would mean a lot of inconvenience and much slower diagnoses, which could have a negative effect on patient outcomes.”