'shakes and shivers'

One week Mark was out playing golf, going to football games, running around refereeing at rugby practice and happily running his business.

He was enjoying a 'nice little life' with wife Steena and children, Jacob, Oscar and Luna, the next week he was questioning consultants if he was going to live or die.

After a developing a pain across his shoulders, finding a pint of beer did not taste so good and needing to go to bed with the shakes and shivers, he called the GP.

Fearing a blood clot on his lung from the symptoms he described, Mark was sent to accident and emergency.

Tests and then a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) - one of the rarer forms of blood cancer - followed.

Watch the films below to hear Mark's moving account.

1: Life before blood cancer

“I didn't have too much understanding about cancer and even less about blood cancer. 

“I didn't even realise leukaemia was blood cancer. I had no real comprehension of that. 

“Immediately it was worry and questions about mortality - in my head and to the consultant as well.

“Worry and confusion. Just a complete lack of understanding about what blood cancer was and specifically acute myeloid leukaemia.”

2: Dealing with the diagnosis

“Typical symptoms are fatigue, night sweats, bleeding and bruising. I didn't have any of that.”

“I was given a lot of paper-based information and I didn't really want to read any of it. 

“I don't know if that was me just burying my head in the sand, but my point of view was that I don't want to know what the effects of this particular chemotherapy might be, or this particular tablet.”

3: 'Two to four weeks to live'

“Third option was to go home and spend time with friends and family.

"And they delivered the news in terms of timescales, and that wasn't very long - two to four weeks - so I made that decision to go home.”

4: Saying goodbye

“I wrote birthday cards until all three kids were 21. It took me ages to do that because I just kept writing a line, a sentence a card and then just breaking down.

“I had to ring people and say, you are coming to these drinks, which is wicked. Just to let you know, they are a like of celebration of life drinks.

“I haven't been to tell everyone, but my news isn't great, I don't have long to live.”

5: A new hope

“…I decided that I wanted to go back and see the consultant…he was surprised to see me, but happy to see me.

“He offered to put me on an injection-based chemo for a few months…”

6: Remission

 

“All the chemotherapy in the world wouldn't have got me into remission.

"Without Antony Nolan and without a stem cell transplant, I wouldn't be here, it's as simple as that.”

'raise awareness'

Each year around 1,150 people in Kent and Medway are diagnosed with blood cancer, about 730 of these are what are known as lymphoid blood cancers and 250 are myeloid blood cancers.

Mark is working with Cure Leukaemia and Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance to raise awareness of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and other blood cancers.