A father from Scotland has just shared an edifying testimony to our colleagues at Glasgow Life. Condemned by doctors when he was affected by a hundred liver tumors, he thwarted the forecasts. He has neuroendocrine cancer.
THE neuroendocrine tumors are little known. Rare, they can be benign or malignant, of slow or very rapid evolution. They develop from cells neuroendocrine “, which have the ability to produce hormones. They control and regulate many functions in the body such as digestion and respiration.
If these cells proliferate in an anarchic way, we speak of endocrine tumor. They can develop throughout the body, but particularly affect the digestive tract, the pancreas and the lungs.
A father in fact shelled the costs. Diagnosed 10 years ago, he had been sentenced by doctors. More’a hundred tumors had been detected in him to the liver.
If Craig Speirs is still alive today, he is fighting to raise funds to help patients affected by this disease.
It all started with hot flashes
This father of two children was diagnosed in 2008 when he was 32 years old. When he talks about his first symptomshe evokes the frequent hot flashes and cravings : he went to the toilet 10 to 15 times a day. He also had regular heart palpitations. It took him five years to get a diagnosis. Its manifestations left doctors perplexed.
His cancer started in the rectum before spreading to hundreds of liver tumours.
“I thought my life was over when I was told I had cancer. It was quite shocking for my family too, they probably thought they were going to lose me “, shares Craig Speirs to our colleagues from Glasgow Life.
” I worked for nine months, then it got really hard. With all the treatments and I was no longer able. I preferred to stop and spend more time with my children. A Cancer Diagnosis Will Prioritize Your Life In A Way Nothing Else Ever Will “.
Eight liver operations and two heart surgeries
Over the past 10 years, Craig has suffered eight liver surgeries, two heart surgeries and several treatments – including one chemotherapy – to increase its chances of survival.
Now Ambassador of Neuroendocrine Cancer UK (NCUK), Craig fights today with the aim of raise £100,000 for in order to help research on this cancer.
If the father of the family has thwarted the predictions, he’s not out of the woods yet. ” They [les médecins, ndlr] are surprised that I am doing well. I got so used to it and adapted to this way of life. If you see my scanner, you’ll think ‘this guy only has a few days to live’, but because he [le cancer, ndlr] growing slowly, my body is able to adapt and live with it a little longer “.