John Edgar has always lived his life trying not to sweat the small stuff, when he was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of sixty-six in 2015, he decided not to focus on worrying and to focus on getting himself better.
“I’ve always been proactive about my health and had regular check-ups. When I went for an MRI in April 2015 I thought I felt fine except for a small prostate issue I was having checked.”
The results of John’s scan showed that he had indolent follicular lymphoma. Instead of dwelling on the unknown, John says he simply accepted the diagnosis and decided “things could be a lot worse.”
John’s plan to retire at the end of 2015 was brought forward to midyear when he started treatment the day after finishing work.
“I always joke that starting treatment was essentially my retirement present!” says John.
Always one to look at the bright side, John says his whole treatment went really well with everything going to plan and his body seeming to react well to treatment.
“I’d had a small tightness in my abdomen for a few years before the diagnosis so I did wonder how long the lymphoma had been in my body.”
“When I first met my haematologist he said ‘this won’t be the thing that kills you’, so that put my mind at ease a bit!”
Soon into his treatment John started to lose his hair and the beard that he had sported for forty years. His wife had never seen him without it. Once again, John didn’t let it bother him and decided against wearing the woolly hat he had originally bought to wear.
John underwent six rounds of treatment which each lasted for three weeks. His body reacted positively for the first few times until an ongoing heart problem landed him in hospital each time after his last three rounds of treatment.
“Before I was diagnosed I had never been admitted to hospital so it gave me a bit of a fright!”
Being in hospital was an eye-opener for John and he was impacted by what others were going through.
“I was well looked after by the staff who were all amazing.”
Early into his treatment, John learnt to continue being proactive with his health which meant keeping a close eye on tests and results and not being afraid to ask questions.
Coordinating his own appointments, tests and doctors visits while also managing chemotherapy was important to John to wrap his head around everything and feel comfortable with it all.
“It’s up to you how you manage your treatment but I felt that when I was organised my mind was more at rest. You don’t know where anything leads but I do like to feel like I know where I am going!” says John.
John is slowly getting his strength back and learning to deal with fatigue and he still likes to get out and about when he can. He and his wife Jenny have kept themselves busy preparing to sell their family home so they can move closer to their three daughters in the Wellington region.
“We have tried to minimise stress wherever possible but it’s also been good to have smaller projects to focus on like getting the house ready to sell which keeps us busy,” says John.
John says the practical things helped him through his treatment like having his wife drive him home from treatment and the neighbours helping manage his property when he wasn’t well.
“What I have learnt is the importance of family and friends when things get rough. Being able to talk to anyone about what you are going through is a huge support,” says John
“When I talked about my diagnosis I realised it wasn’t as bad as it was in my head and it helped me realise it wasn’t something I needed to stress about,” says John.
By Christmas time in 2015 John had finished treatment and was happy to be starting a new year in better health and continuing to take a no stress approach to whatever life throws at him.
“We are just enjoying things as they come. There’s a lot of things happening in life and you just have to take one day at a time.”