JUST a year ago, Adam Spink was given a 20 per cent chance of survival when he was diagnosed with a rare form of nose cancer that spread to his brain.
After an 11-hour operation in which doctors removed parts of his face to cut out the cancer, Mr Spink of Wordsworth Avenue, Maldon, then had to endure 12 weeks of intensive radiotherapy.
Then, when a routine check-up highlighted abnormal cells, the father of three was dealt another blow – by a diagnosis of thyroid cancer.
But a year after his initial diagnosis, the 36-year-old has defied all the odds, beaten cancer twice and returned to work full-time.
He said: "I thought I had nothing more serious than a cold which I couldn't seem to shrug.
"But I was diagnosed with sinus cancer the same day my divorce papers came through, which was quite a shock.
"I had my operation to remove the initial cancer, which was 11 hours, and the doctors pretty much removed part of my face and nose, then you have radiotherapy to kind of mop things up.
"You have 30 sessions Monday to Friday, and as Broomfield Hospital doesn't have a radiotherapy unit, I drove myself to Southend every day.
"Because my cancer was in my sinus and then spread to my brain, which is so rare, there was a high risk of blindness but luckily that didn't happen.
"During radiotherapy, you're being bombarded and the inside of my head was red raw and so was my mouth. You do feel pretty tired but I wanted to drive myself because at least then cancer wasn't taking over my life and those around me.
"After the radiotherapy was finished, which is six weeks of treatment and then six weeks of it working, I phased my return to work and started back part-time.
"But in between that I was having regular hospital appointments."
It was during one of his follow-up visits that doctors decided to do a scan to make sure the tumour had completely gone.
"A PET scan is very specific in detecting abnormal cells and is similar to an MRI scan but they inject you with radiation and glucose and you have to fast.
"Because cancer is an energy source, you can't eat for 12 hours or drink six hours before you have the scan. They brought in the needle in a lead box, which was pretty scary, and then inject you and the radiation and glucose are drawn straight to any cancer. My initial cancer was completely clear but they noticed some further abnormal cells to my right thyroid lobe.
"After doing some further tests, they confirmed I had thyroid cancer, which is located just behind your windpipe, and I had another three-hour operation to remove the tumour.
"Because PET scans are very expensive they are not used that often but they detect very early cancer – as I'd had this scan they found the second cancer, which wouldn't have shown any symptoms until probably a year to 18 months later, by which time it would have been so advanced and not as easy to remove.
"And funnily the cancers weren't linked at all, it was just a coincidence."
After his second operation in six months, Mr Spink, who works at Rolls Royce in Dunmow, was determined not to let cancer ruin his life.
He added: "When I was initially diagnosed, they said if it went to my brain, which it did, I would have about a 20 per cent of survival but I believe that your attitude helps you beat cancer and I was never going to let it win.
"I've now been given a 60-70 per cent chance of it not returning and making a full recovery, so to go in a year from a 20 per cent to 70 per cent survival rate is pretty good and I believe alongside all the hospital treatment it's attitude.
"I just hope someone reading this who might have just got some devastating news can see that cancer doesn't have to be a life sentence, it doesn't have to rule your life or ruin it.
"I always said I wanted to return to work 12 months after my diagnosis and here I am, ten months later, back full-time."
