Steve’s StorY
The oncology team and local doctors and nurses have been fantastic – I will never have a bad word said about our NHS.
In December 2021, I went to my GP complaining of bloating in my stomach and was told to keep a food diary. Despite the excesses of my birthday and Christmas the bloating subsided in January and coincided with us moving into our new home. Life was good!
By February my stomach bloating flared up again and I went back to the GP. This time I was given a male MOT, bloods, stool sample and body check (yes fingers up the bum). My stool was clear, but they had found a very small sample of blood in my urine. As a precaution I had a telephone appointment the following Tuesday with Bath Royal United Hospitals oncology department.
During the few days that followed my stomach got bigger and bigger and constipation set in. The night before the call I went for a meal with my wife and family. My mother – never one to pull punches – informed me I 'looked like sh*t’, was grey under the eyes and needed to get checked out. Always listen to your mother, gents!
My phone call with the hospital was very quick and they asked if I could come straight in as I hadn't passed wind for two days. Apparently alarm bells should go off if wind is trapped!
After a CT scan at the hospital, I saw a surgeon in blue scrubs walk past and look over to me to clock who I was, with a concerned look on his face. He walked to the reception desk, walked back to me and closed the curtains. I don't know how they do this part but he was unbelievably compassionate and professional when he put his hand on my knee and said "I am sorry Mr Taylor, it isn't good news. You have bowel cancer and we need to go for an emergency procedure to remove the blockage in your bowel."
After the operation, my mind was in overdrive. I looked at my new mate Stevie Stoma for the first time. I have to say at this point I wanted to cry as I thought it was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen in my life. I spent a few days getting my stoma sorted and keeping food down, then I met with the surgeon who did my operation and was given the good news that I could go home.
For the next five days I relaxed, caught up with friends on the phone and got used to Stevie Stoma's antics. Within a few days, me and Jess had the changing of the bags like a Formula One time swift!
One thing I was so keen to get started on was the recovery. At the start of 2022, I said to Jess I was going to buy us a Peloton. It made perfect sense to both of us to have a piece of gym equipment in the house that we both had access to and could use at any time of the day. So I set myself an ambitious weight loss target for the year. I was determined to work my way through 12 months to get there and look good for my 40th birthday party.
“My mother – never one to pull punches – informed me I ‘looked like sh*t’, was grey under the eyes and needed to get checked out. Always listen to your mother, gents!”
With my fitness schedule up and running I felt my mind becoming so clear. Positivity is a word that gets bandied about a lot and sometimes I think when I hear this word isn't that how everyone is when they open their eyes each day! Evidently this isn't the case and you really do have to dig deep into your mind to start.
It was looming over me that I had to go and see the doctor four weeks after surgery to discuss the future. This was genuinely the only time throughout all that had happened when I felt scared.
The contents of that appointment will remain confidential but I can safely say thank the Lord I had Jess with me, as it was information overload and she took in a lot of what was being said better than I did. Knowing that I would start my chemotherapy treatment in two weeks for three months relaxed me and off home we went.
My advice for starting chemotherapy would be to take someone with you. My schedule is on a three-week cycle. Week one is a Oxaliplatin infusion at the hospital aka an IV Drip which last two and a half hours followed by Capecitabine tablets (chemotherapy tablets) a combination of Xelox and Capox drugs twice a day. Week two is Capecitabine tablets twice a day only. Week three is complete rest then the cycle starts again.
You receive a phone call from a nurse a few days before you start treatment, and they run through any questions. It's really relaxed and a great opportunity to get any questions out of your system.
My first infusion was on Tuesday 5 April. The two hours flew by and the half-hour wash through at the end was really straightforward, so in a blink of an eye I was done with my first round of Oxaliplatin, and I was allowed to leave.
I have had fantastic support from those friends and family I cherish the most, had messages from friends I have no issues with but have not seen in years, and have closed out those who I know are just noisy and wanting gossip. Plus, the oncology team and local doctors and nurses have been fantastic. I will never have a bad word said about our NHS. It is stretched but the best in the world and those who work hard within it are angels.
I cannot conclude this account without a special mention to my beautiful wife Lady J and my Mum, the two strongest women I have ever met.