Robert Fisk, the Daily Express Cancer Care crusader, has offered a candid insight into his battle with incurable bowel cancer, revealing that he may choose to stop taking a chemotherapy drug that has been his lifeline. The cancer is growing, and discussions with his doctors now focus on which drug combinations are least likely to kill him, rather than simply what is best for his health.
Cancer Progression and Treatment Decisions
Fisk's recent scan results showed that his incurable bowel cancer is growing in the areas where it has been present for the past three years. There is a danger that some cells may split off and start multiplying in other parts of the body. If that happens, his plan to attend Wimbledon next year could be impossible, as he would be dead.
His cancer doctors have represcribed oxaliplatin, a chemotherapy drug that comes with a lengthy information session before the first treatment. Patients are warned they may feel their throat closing up and be unable to breathe. Fisk has seen people surrounded by medical staff after the emergency button was pressed when given this drug for the first time.
History with Oxaliplatin
This is not Fisk's first experience with oxaliplatin. It was part of his treatment plan for the first year of cancer. The maximum recommended number of doses is 12 because side effects can be completely devastating. Fisk had it 20 times, plus one more time when it was incorrectly prescribed last year. By the time his article was published, he had just received his 22nd dose.
The drug has been effective before, helping reduce his initial massive tumour into a much smaller mass in his bowel. However, long-term side effects can be devastating. Last time, Fisk was lucky: tingling in his hands lasted only six to eight hours, and pain when touching cold things wore off after a few days. He knows tips like wearing gloves when getting things out of the freezer or getting drinks from the fridge.
Risk of Severe Side Effects
Fisk has seen how badly oxaliplatin can affect others, leaving them unable to walk or grip things properly, effectively helpless in their own lives. He worries this could happen to him. He plans to keep a side effects diary to show his medical team how much it is affecting him. If necessary, he will refuse to have the treatment.
He is determined not to let worries about side effects or cancer progression define him. The easiest way to do this is by having as much fun as possible. Just an hour after getting the scan results, he roped in his mother to be his photographer at a lavender farm. It was the closest he has got to a holiday this year, especially as there was an Italian man in the cafe afterwards.
Fisk concludes that maybe he will get further afield one day, if the chemotherapy side-effects do not finish him off.
