My name is David and I live in the United Kingdom. I was diagnosed with FL in 2022 and am Stage 2. I will be running the London Marathon in April 2026 for the FLF.
I work as a director for a healthcare consultancy supporting NHS Trusts to buy and implement digital systems and services. I live in Nottinghamshire with my wife Claire, my stepson George and our two dogs Maggie and Freddie. I also have two older children – Will who is a Royal Veterinary College graduate and Izzy who is studying economics in Durham.
My hobbies are running, cycling, swimming, walking, baking, live music and travelling.
The photo above was taken in Yosemite where Claire, George and I travelled to as part of a road-trip we went on across the states in July and August 2024.
Initially I had a lump in my groin which my GP thought could be a hernia or lymphoma. I was referred to a consultant who specialised in Cancer of the unknown primary (CUP). I then had a series of ultrasounds, MRIs and PET scans and 2 Inguinal Lymph Node Dissections. I was then diagnosed with grade 2 FL.
I was told what I had was incurable and whilst I could have treatment, the FL was likely to be in other areas given the results of my LN dissection and I was given the option of having treatment or going onto watch and wait. I opted for the latter. It was upsetting to be told that it was incurable (earlier in the process I was told I was going to be treated with a view to my cancer being curable), but I did take heart in the fact that against other forms of cancer, for most patients the prognosis was good with new treatments, particularly with drugs, developing all the time. The hardest part was telling my children.
I was put on watch and wait. Last year I had raised lymph nodes in my neck and had a PET scan, but they have subsequently reduced in size, and my consultant was not concerned with them. In December I found another raised lymph node in my groin, and I was referred by my GP a few days ago for an ultrasound.
Initially, the main challenge was to get my head around accepting that what I had was incurable and going onto watch and wait. With all the advances in medical science, particularly in cancer treatment, it is hard to accept that there aren’t cures for FL.
Having reoccurrences with the lymphoma in my neck and now groin also sets me back as they come out of no-where and it’s upsetting to have to go through the process of having investigations and causing worry to myself and my family. The lymphomas in my groin and having the dissections have also been challenging as it stops me from running which is one of my main passions and something that helps me to take my mind off my diagnosis.
In terms of triumphs, managing to accept the diagnosis and to be able have periods of time where I forget or don’t even think about the FL are what I’d see as positives. It also helps me to put things into perspective and not to take things too seriously at work and at home.
FL doesn’t generally impact me a lot, but I do have to have regular checks and to attend clinic. Having been diagnosed does help me in my day job helping to implement systems and services into the NHS which help to improve care and treatment for patients like me and thousands of others and also helps to put things into perspective more generally. I do try to avoid getting worked up by silly things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Life is too short!
Everyone’s situation is different but from my experience, I’ve tried to avoid letting my diagnosis have a large impact on my life. I try to live in the moment and be grateful for what I do have. I know the likelihood is that I will need treatment further down the line, but I try to remain as positive as possible and feel reassured that there are teams across the NHS and beyond who will be there to support me when it’s needed.
In April I will be running the London Marathon helping to raise funds for the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation.
My fundraising page on the just giving website is below. I would be grateful for any donations towards my run.
Whilst I have run marathons before including London a few times, I’ve not run a marathon since 2016 and haven’t run over a half marathon distance since then so it will be quite a challenge.
