John Thorncroft, a 58-year-old father of two from Port Talbot, went for a routine blood test expecting to discuss high cholesterol. Instead, days before Father's Day 2023, his GP delivered a devastating diagnosis: incurable blood cancer. He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), a slow-growing form of blood cancer.
Shock diagnosis from a routine check
John had the blood test as part of age-related checks. When his GP called him back, he assumed it was about high cholesterol. 'My GP rang me on the Friday before Father's Day and said, 'John, your cholesterol's fine, there's nothing to worry about. However, you've got blood cancer,'' John recalled. He initially laughed, thinking it was a joke, but the reality soon set in.
Despite the diagnosis, John felt completely healthy. 'I'm six foot one, I walk miles every day, I go to the gym and I looked absolutely fine,' he said. 'If you'd seen me, you'd have thought there was nothing wrong with me at all.'
Telling his children on Father's Day
One of John's hardest tasks was telling his children, Shannon, 28, and Jack, 17, who is autistic and relies heavily on his father. 'The hardest part wasn't hearing the diagnosis. It was telling my children. I've always been the person who protects my family and solves problems when things go wrong. Suddenly I was the problem. I felt weak. I felt like I'd let them down,' he said.
John had to tell Shannon on Father's Day when she visited to celebrate. He also explained the situation to Jack, whom he home-schools. 'There were a few tears,' he said. 'I'm Jack's go-to person for everything, so it was very difficult telling him.'
Living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
Blood cancer is the UK's third biggest cancer killer and fifth most common cancer. More than 280,000 people in the UK are living with blood cancer, and around 41,000 people are diagnosed each year. John is on active monitoring, or 'watch and wait', where he is regularly monitored until treatment is needed. 'Every 12 weeks I go for blood tests and every 12 weeks the numbers got a little bit worse,' he said. 'I'm grateful somebody is keeping a close eye on me, but at the same time I'm waiting to hear bad news.'
Two years after his diagnosis, John experienced a serious decline in his mental health and sought counselling. 'I got to the stage where I thought, 'What's the point?' I wasn't planning to harm myself, but I'd lost sight of why I was doing anything. Cancer had changed how I saw my future,' he said. Counselling 'completely changed my outlook. It gave me the tools I needed to cope and helped me get my life back.'
A special Father's Day
This Father's Day is extra special for John as he recently became a grandfather. 'Sally has just had a child of her own, so this Father's Day is even more special now we get to celebrate all together. We'll go out for a nice meal and spend quality time together which is all the more important now,' he said.
John has also completed fundraising for Blood Cancer UK with his rottweiler Chuck. To find out more about blood cancer or to support Blood Cancer UK's work, visit bloodcancer.org.uk.
