Just four days before Christmas 2023, doctors diagnosed 60-year-old Paul Marshall from Bangor, Northern Ireland with stomach cancer. According to the newspaper Paul he experienced various symptoms for about a year. His problems resulted in a visit to a specialist, who gave him some dire news.
Stomach cancer, along with brain, liver, lung, esophagus, and pancreatic cancer, is known as one of the most difficult cancers to survive. These types of cancer are mostly diagnosed at later stages compared to other types. Symptoms of stomach cancer often include difficulty swallowing, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and significant weight loss, as well as frequent reflux and feeling full very quickly when eating.
“My ‘luck’ was that the disease was diagnosed early enough for me to undergo surgery and treatment, as only one in five cases of stomach cancer is identified early enough for treatment options to be available. A statistically vulnerable group are men aged 55 and over, for whom certain aspects of lifestyle increase the risk, such as smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet,” Paul told Belfast Live.
“I have spent a year since my diagnosis undergoing chemotherapy and recovering from the physical and emotional trauma at Belfast City Hospital Cancer Center in May 2024. The effects of the treatment were and still are very challenging, between the initial weight loss and the removal of the stomach, I dropped from 80 kg to 55 kg,” Paul continued.
He is now urging others who experience any symptoms that are out of the ordinary to get tested immediately. “Despite ignoring the lingering symptoms, I am cancer free today because I finally went to the doctor. If my symptoms went away, I would forget about them until it was too late. Now I know that acting quickly and not ignoring persistent stomach problems is a life saver. Yes, I am greatly weakened, but I am alive, cancer-free, surrounded by love and grateful to still be here,” Paul explained.
“The physical and emotional toll was, and still is, huge. Yes, I won the war, but now I’m trying to come to terms with the physical legacy that changed my life and that is ‘quiet’ and overshadowed by the knowledge that the cancer can come back.” But I remain grateful because every challenge I complete today means that better times are dawning for me. Giving up was never an option, but it’s not an easy road,” Paul described his battle with cancer.
