‘My partner became one of my team’s cancer patients’

Anna Brown spends her days supporting patients with head and neck cancer.

But that didn’t fully prepare her for the reality when her partner Nick Hill was diagnosed, and faced months of gruelling treatment.

Nick, who lives with Anna in Bearsted, near Maidstone, chose to have his treatment with Anna’s team at East Kent Hospitals, and needed radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery to remove a lymph node from his neck.

Anna said: “It has been really hard. Right from the start I was aware of all the potential negatives, because I hear a lot from patients about the side effects.

“When we first got the treatment plan I was thinking ahead to what it would mean, like a feeding tube and all the risks that has, and I knew the impact it would have on Nick.

“My instinct is to try and fix things and try to make things better and there were some days when everything felt really overwhelming for Nick and there was absolutely nothing I could do to help.”

Nick, 51, was diagnosed with tonsil and base of tongue cancer after initially suffering from a mouth ulcer that took weeks to heal. He then developed swelling on one side of his neck.

He said: “Initially my GP wasn’t concerned and the ulcer did eventually go away, but then when I noticed the swelling Anna said it didn’t seem right.

“One of my tonsils was quite swollen so I went back to the GP and was referred on an urgent cancer pathway.”

Nick had scans and a biopsy within a week, and received his diagnosis about a week after that. He had treatment at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, but a follow-up scan left medics worried about a lymph node so he had surgery to remove that earlier this month.

He said: “It can feel like you take one step forward and two steps back, and every day it felt like there was some different discomfort in my mouth, from ulcers or thrush to dryness or a sore throat.

“Even after being told by the oncology team that the treatment and side effects were going to be physically and mentally tough, the reality is an awful lot worse. It has been the toughest time of my life.

“You cope day to day and it does get better as time goes on. I find going to the gym really helps me.

“Food is a chore now though; I used to really enjoy eating out and although my sense of taste came back quite quickly it is still uncomfortable and if I could avoid it I would.”

Amidst his treatment, Anna - who is also a breast cancer survivor – decided to organise a fundraising event to benefit head and neck cancer charities.

She said: “I had done some fundraising before and this felt like something positive we could do to raise awareness. So few people have heard of head and neck cancer and there are some really good small charities out there.

“I also run a support group for head and neck cancer patients and this was a way to raise some money for that as well.

“We had originally planned it for when we thought his treatment would be over but he ended up having surgery just two days before – and still made it along on the day."

The event took place at The Oak on the Green in Bearsted and raised more than £3,200. Many friends and relatives donated cakes and raffle prizes, and Anna also set up an online fundraiser for those who could not attend. That netted more than £1000 for the Mouth Cancer Foundation.

The rest was split between Macmillan Crossroads Kent, which has been supporting Anna with counselling, the East Kent Heads Up support group, and Swallows head and neck cancer charity.

Nick, who works for construction firm Kier, is now planning to attend the support group to share his experiences and meet others in similar situations.

Anna said: “I haven’t really mentioned it to the patients, and everyone’s story is different, but people do often find it helpful to meet others.

“I think this experience will affect my work, as I now have a much deeper understanding of what it is like for patients.

“It is really vital that people are aware of changes in their mouth and neck because early diagnosis makes such a difference to long-term recovery.”

You can add to the fundraising total online at https://www.justgiving.com/page/anna-brown-2