Friends Ali and Rob (Picture: Ali Eddy / SWNS)
After Ali Eddy was diagnosed with an incurable cancer after a routine health check, her friend Rob McMeeking was spurred on to get himself checked out too.
And it’s lucky he did, because that meant the dad-of-three’s own prostate cancer was found early enough for surgeons to operate.
Now, Ali has been able to find some comfort in the fact her diagnosis may well have saved her friend’s life.
The medical secretary, who recently celebrated her 50th birthday – a day she was afraid she wouldn’t live to see – said: ‘It is incurable and inoperable.
‘Everyone always asks the question “How long have you got?”, and I wouldn’t want to say because of my kids.
‘I’m really well at the moment, but it is a ticking time bomb.
‘I am totally positive because you’ve got to live life. It makes you so grateful for everything you have.’
Veterinarian Rob says he booked a men’s health check ‘as a consequence’ of his friend’s diagnosis.
‘It’s important to have friends like Ali’ (Picture: Ali Eddy / SWNS)
The 52-year-old said: ‘My prostate-specific antigen was a little raised and the GP said “It’s nothing to worry about, but it needs checking”.
‘I was referred to a urologist, who is Ali’s husband, Ben.
‘I had tests and then had an MRI, which raised an area of suspicion, so I needed a biopsy.’
When doctors found the cancer, it was found to be in its early stages.
Rob, from Bladbean, Kent, underwent surgery to remove the tumours in March, and the operation was a success.
He says it ‘couldn’t have been a better-case scenario’, and stresses how important it is to be open about your health.
He added: ‘I think for men and a prostate, which is hidden and associated with an area of the body that is uncomfortable to talk about, it is important to speak about it.
‘It’s also important to have friends like Ali.’
Ali and her three children, Archie, James and Lily (Picture: Ali Eddy / SWNS)
Ali said her ‘world fell apart’ when she was diagnosed with stage 4 thymic carcinoma – a rare and aggressive cancer of the chest – in November.
Even though she went through chemotherapy, the tumour kept growing, wrapping around her heart and spreading to her sternum and ribs.
But, even though her cancer is incurable, doctors have stressed there are still options for treatment, with the tumour having now shrunk by 50%.
Ali, who lives in Bridge, Kent, said there is a lack of research into this rare cancer, adding: ‘The treatment I have now is the same as about 40 years ago.
‘There aren’t enough patients to make effective studies because you need volumes of people to notice the trends and see the results.
‘We are such a rare breed it is not out there.’
Ali and Rob’s children organised a 24-hour danceathon at a barn to help support Cancer Research UK, and have raised over £11,000.
The 24-hour danceathon(Picture: Ali Eddy / SWNS)
Rob said: ‘Cancer is such a scary word.
‘What they’ve done by organising this is given themselves control over the situation.
‘We have two children at university, and it felt like it was out of their hands, and they couldn’t even give me a hug.’
Ali said: ‘They were pretty devastated when both of our diagnoses came through. It gave them a bit more of a focus.
‘They have all had each other during a scary time.’
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‘I’m really well at the moment, but it is a ticking time bomb.’