When Philip, 76, was diagnosed with a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a rare tumour that develops at the base of the spine, he underwent surgery at The Royal Marsden under the care of Mr Shahnawaz Rasheed.
Following successful treatment, he has decided to share his remarkable story.
“Prior to my diagnosis, I hadn’t been in a hospital for 50 years as I had always been fit and healthy."
"Following some dreadful symptoms and weight loss, I was sent to my local hospital who had no idea what was wrong until they found a mass in my abdomen. I decided to get a second opinion and was referred to The Royal Marsden – and they saved my life.”
“I don’t believe I would have survived if I hadn’t been referred to The Royal Marsden”
Philip was diagnosed within 30 minutes with a sacrococcygeal teratoma. An indication of its rarity is that Mr Rasheed – Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at The Royal Marsden – usually only sees six people a year with it.
“It was very unusual, and it would have been growing from birth – it was on my coccyx. As an infant, I had an external growth that was removed at my local hospital at the time, which left a permanent scar on my left buttock. However, when they removed it, part of it must have been pushed back into my body and had been growing throughout my life."
"At the point of diagnosis, it was 35cm. It was pushing onto my bladder and bowel, which was causing horrible symptoms.”
“I don’t believe I would have survived if I hadn’t been referred to The Royal Marsden. Mr Rasheed performed the surgery, which went very well. It was basically like removing a mini rugby ball.”
The tumour had affected Philip's bowel, which meant that Mr Rasheed had to give him a stoma during the surgery. This is an opening in the tummy where part of the bowel has been diverted. Stool is then collected into a disposable bag that is worn over the stoma. “I was told that the stoma could be reversible, but it’s been eight years now and I still have it. Reversing it is always a risk, so we are leaving it for now.”
Life now for Philip
“I return to The Royal Marsden to be scanned every year and everything has been fine so far. It was a shock to the system because I’ve always done a lot of sports, such as athletics, horse riding, water-skiing and tennis."
"I’m retired now, but I also had my own book business. I opened my first book shop in 1978 in Oxford and I had nine book shops in total, as well as two overseas in Amsterdam and Copenhagen!”
"I’ve eased back into my activities; I can’t do everything I did before, but I’m back to swimming a fair bit. I still cycle and walk as well.”
“I had lifesaving surgery at The Royal Marsden. There’s no doubt in my mind that my life was saved, and I am very grateful for this. I wanted to say thank you.”
A gift in my Will to help others in the future
After seeing a social media post from the Charity, Philip was inspired to leave a gift in his Will using our Free Will Service.
“Many people like myself may not have thought about making a Will. I loved the idea of leaving a donation to the Charity, and the Free Will Service made the whole process quick and easy" he said. “It only took two meetings with the solicitor to finalise the Will and have everything completed.”
“It was straightforward and a wonderful way to say thank you. I’m pleased that I’ve left this gift and hope it goes some way to helping others one day.”
“The care at The Royal Marsden is wonderful, from the surgeon to the nurses to the people who scan me every year.”
Three ways gifts in Wills have changed lives at The Royal Marsden
Thanks to people like Philip who leave a gift in their Will, the Charity has been able to fund state-of-the-art facilities and equipment at The Royal Marsden, which makes a vital difference to patients at the hospital and beyond.
- The building of the £2.6 million West Wing Clinical Research Centre was originally funded by gifts in Wills, and opened in 2014. The facilities enable day-care patients on early-phase and late-phase clinical trials to be together in one space.
- Gifts in Wills helped to fund The National Institute for Health and Care Research Centre for Molecular Pathology in Sutton. Since opening in 2012, it brings clinicians and scientists under one roof to better understand the different types of cancer, and develop personalised treatments.
- In 2011 the first Cyberknife machine was installed, funded by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, including gifts in Wills. CyberKnife delivers precision radiotherapy to patients using a robotic arm, which manoeuvres to target hard-to-reach tumours.
Write your Will for free with The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and help fund our life-saving research.
Find out more about our Free Will Service.