Rob Houliston, 41, from near East Grinstead, West Sussex, attributed his back pain to 33 years of playing rugby, but it was actually a sign of kidney cancer. He has been told the average survival rate for his type of cancer is four years.
From rugby twinges to a cancer diagnosis
Houliston began experiencing back twinges in February but brushed off the symptoms. By March, he started feeling nauseous after eating, and by mid-May he had lost three-and-a-half stone and stopped playing rugby.
In June, he visited Princess Royal Hospital in Sussex after being hit between the legs by a dog, which left him with a swollen testicle. Doctors performed an ultrasound to check for testicular cancer but spotted a hard, swollen vein behind his enlarged testicle, which they said pointed to a kidney problem. A CT scan then uncovered a large tumour on his kidney, and he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma. The tumour had been pressing against his stomach, which accounted for his nausea and loss of appetite.
Operation and treatment
Houliston had his kidney and the tumour removed in July, but doctors told him the average survival time is four years with his type of cancer. He is due to begin immunotherapy on September 29 at Brighton hospital. His cancer cannot be treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Houliston, a security-systems installer, had previously survived a rare tumour called rhabdomyosarcoma in his left ear at six years old. He said: "Four years is not long, but I'm not going to give up. I've beaten a very rare kind of cancer once. This is quite rare, and I'll beat it again."
Family support and fundraising
Houliston and his wife Larissa, 37, a carer, wear matching t-shirts emblazoned with 'it is what is it' to their hospital appointments. He is left with a 14-inch scar around his left torso following the seven-and-a-half-hour operation on July 15.
His family, including children Isabel, 14, Lucie, 12, Ivy, eight, Jakob, three, and sister Sidney Hamilton-Williams, 39, have raised £17,500 on a GoFundMe page for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyland. He said: "I'm just blown away by people's incredible kindness and generosity. We couldn't believe it, we reached the £8,000 target in six hours and raised £17,000 in 24."
His ambitions now are to return to work in October and get back on the rugby pitch in two years' time, once he has been given the all-clear for contact sports. He said: "Don't give up, set yourself goals and take little steps. I'd love to hear from anyone else with this illness who is doing really well, and to hear about new possible treatments to try."
