Last month, Jesús took on the Great North Run with Team Anthony Nolan to ‘give back’ and to help with his recovery, after his stem cell transplant in 2023. This is his story.
My ‘journey’ started in November 2022 when I was diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). I was admitted to hospital to start treatment immediately because of how rapidly it can develop. As it turned out, 80% of the cells in my bone marrow were cancer cells. It was a shock – I could not believe I had been travelling and working normally.
It was tough for my family. My wife was quite distraught, and my oldest son was initially quite distressed. However, being able to visit me in the hospital I think helped him, and even brought us much closer. As the weeks passed, and treatment started to progress everybody at home started to feel reassured. They could see that I was calm, and I think that helped them too.
The most effective treatment for my type of ALL involved two or three courses of chemotherapy, supported with immunotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant. For me, waiting to find a donor was the most stressful part. It opened my eyes to how much patients need the support of charities like Anthony Nolan, to organise stem cell transplants. I only have one sibling – my brother – and unfortunately, he wasn’t a compatible match. So, living with the uncertainty of finding a suitable donor brought a lot of anxiety. I couldn´t help thinking, ‘What happens if they don’t find a match?’. I remember the day my consultant told me and my wife that they had found a few matches, and that there was one that was particularly good. It was such a relief! It felt like a massive weight had been lifted off our shoulders. We both knew there was a lot still to go through, but somehow it felt ‘manageable’.
Why I wanted to support Anthony Nolan
My family and I are deeply grateful to Anthony Nolan and to the incredibly generous human being that was willing to donate his cells, and to give me another chance. Anthony Nolan made it happen. They gave me the possibility of a future, and they keep doing this every day with many other patients. That is why, for me, it was so important to do something that could help. I wanted to raise awareness about the need for more donors and raise funds for Anthony Nolan to support their amazing work. I also know that, beyond stem cell transplants, Anthony Nolan also do research and enable the development of new cell therapies, and they rely on our support to do that too. So, for me, it’s a no brainer. How can I not support their work.
Deciding ‘how to help’ was a really funny story for me. I always felt envious about people who ran long distances, but never managed to do it myself. A few years ago, when I was far fitter, I had a couple of spells where I started running and I did what everyone tells you not to do, I went ‘too far’ and ‘too fast’. I injured myself badly in the process and I decided that ‘running was definitely not for me’.
When I was discharged from hospital after I got my transplant, we wanted to celebrate the good news with friends and family – I was recovering slowly, getting my strength back and basically just wanted to celebrate, tell people that I’m still here because I got my transplant, and also that many people like me need urgent help. We put a couple of posts on Facebook and asked, ‘We need you to support Anthony Nolan, we need you to register to become a donor’. A few friends decided that they were going to do the Great North Run to raise funds for Anthony Nolan and I thought, ‘I’m just sitting at home, and because of me they felt compelled to run a half-marathon to support Anthony Nolan, so, why not me?’.
Almost at the same time I had come across a book by David Lauder: “Colours, medals and music: Running my way through Leukaemia”. David’s book was an inspiration to me. Reading about his journey through being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and his attitude in dealing with the anxiety and uncertainty of his condition hit me so close to home. His decision to ‘do something’, to run and help charities and other patients like him, really inspired me.
I have never been a sports person at all but for me this was a double challenge: I wanted to prove to myself that I can do something with my body after my transplant and also, I wanted to do something useful for others.
Taking on the Great North Run helped my recovery
I think for many patients, perhaps it is the isolation, more than the cancer itself, that really gets to you. Particularly when you need to isolate for months whilst you are immunosuppressed. So, for me, finding a ‘mission’ if you will, and finding a way of connecting with other people has really helped me.
My goal wasn’t to get a great time. It was about completing the race and trying to help in a small way. My brain and my body aren’t as sharp as they were but doing this made me feel useful, it gave me a purpose and gave me structure, which is very important for patients like me, after spending months in hospital, being in pain or unhealthy or tired and miserable sometimes. Having something to work towards and celebrate every small success. When I started training I was still quite weak and I had to take it easy, but it helped my physical recovery to gently push myself. I’m doing it really slow and every little progress makes me feel positive. I used to dread exercise, but now I feel great while I’m doing it. I’m alive, it’s a celebration of being alive and at the same time I feel I’m doing something useful.
The fundraising has also been a way of finding connection with people that are struggling too. I found out, by sharing my experience, that several of my acquaintances had been through their own struggles with cancer. I think it’s important to be open because it can help other people to feel less isolated. When you get diagnosed your life gets shattered, and you have to rebuild it. People have opened to me and shared their stories, and I feel so privileged. It has opened my eyes to how incredible human beings can be in the face of adversity.
We cannot control what happens to us, but what we can control is how we respond to the challenge. I’m driving my life. I think whatever feels right to you – you should just do it. And we all have the capacity to impact other people’s lives in a positive way. Doing this for Anthony Nolan has been really meaningful to me.
If Jesús' story has inspired you to take on a race of your own, find out more about running with Team Anthony Nolan.