Our door-to-door minibus was a Godsend for Doug
Doug Chittock, 75, travelled on our minibus for a month when he underwent radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer.
He joined the hundreds of men and women to whom we’ve offered free daily transport from York and around to St James’s Hospital’s Bexley Wing, where the treatment takes place.
Doug, a York-born retired train driver who lives in Huntington, originally went to see his GP because of frequent urination. Blood tests showed his PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) levels were raised and his cancer was discovered on a hospital scan.
He was put on tablets to lower his testosterone before undergoing radiotherapy. “I had heard about York Against Cancer – I pass the office on the way to the paper shop!” said Doug. “I’d also seen the minibus out and about.”
Non-motorist Doug made his own way to his first appointment at Jimmy’s – taking a bus into York, another to Leeds and a third up to the hospital. After that, however, he joined our transport system.
“A doctor told me I could use the minibus and it was all sorted out and I got picked up from home. It’s so much better on the bus; there are other ladies and gentlemen who are all in the same boat.
“It was a nice bunch of people and we had a few laughs and jokes during our journeys. The drivers, Ian and Neil, are gentlemen – they really look after you.
“Without York Against Cancer I would have been doing multiple buses there and back because I don’t drive. They would have been long days, and I did feel tired because of the treatment. “All in all, the bus has been a Godsend,” said Doug, who has been making a good recovery. Two months after his radiotherapy, his PSA levels were down from 6 to 0.5.