Darran loved our respite breaks
It was after dropping off a patient at York Hospital that Darran Buckley (pictured), an Energency Ambulance Technician with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, first noticed a lump in his neck.
“I’d had a persistent sore throat,” he said, “but I thought nothing of it. I felt the side of my neck and noticed what I thought was a swollen gland.
“I went to the doctor and after tests showed it wasn’t an infection, they sent me off on an urgent referral. The hospital tests showed it was a secondary tumour and they weren’t sure where the primary was.
“A scan found I had head and neck cancer. The primary was just under my chin. It was a shock but at the back of my mind I knew that something wasn’t right.
“It was more of a shock for my other half (Darran's partner Katie Shaylor). She had a doctor’s appointment in London that day so she couldn’t come with me. I had to tell her on the phone.”
Darran faced eight sessions of chemotherapy at the same time as 35 bouts of radiotherapy, but had to stop the chemotherapy after suffering a severe reaction. During his radiotherapy he suffered mouth ulcers, lost his sense of taste, his appetite and most of his salivary glands.
He shed two stone and at one point was admitted to hospital with malnutrition, being fed through the nose for two months.
“My life was taken away from me,” said Darran. “I had to do exactly what I was told - but there’s nothing you can do, you just have to get on with it. My dad had bowel, liver and lung cancer and he had a great attitude, such a sense of humour with it and I think I have a similar outlook.
“I can’t remember that much of it because of all the drugs I was on – it was worse for Katie, she saw it all and she struggled to cope with all I had to go through.”
The couple were delighted when told that they could take advantage of York Against Cancer’s free respite break scheme, and visited Filey at the end of Darran’s treatment.
“It was unbelievable, a home from home,” he said. “It’s one of the nicest things that could be offered to you after you’ve had your treatment, not just for you but for your family – living your life normally. To know that you have got that break away that is totally free of charge – it’s such a gift.”
Darran is now back at work after 310 days of treatment, and continues to be monitored. “I’m never going to be 100 per cent and sometimes the side effects get you down, but I am still here and I am so thankful for that.
“The ambulance service has been fantastic – all my colleagues rallied round. I’m so glad to be back at work.”