Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
My name is David Phillips, I live in Neath South Wales with my wife Patricia.
Rugby was my life. In 1956 I had two Welsh caps against England. I had a very very full
life, I had no time for anything. We went on holiday, came home, saw the doctor and
he asked me how were you holidays and I said marvellous, and he said I'm very sorry, you've
got cancer. I was diagnosed with throat cancer. When I
started my chemo I was losing my hair, I couldn't eat. I lost over six and a half stone in two
months. I've always been a very proud person, I wouldn't ask anything of anybody. The embarrassment,
it was terrible. Being lifted into the shower, lifted out of the shower, lifted onto the
toilet... that was something I could never accept. I was very depressed because I felt
a failure inside. I broke my heart, I will admit it, I broke my heart. I didn't talk
to anybody, I didn't want people to come and look at me so I stopped all visitors. You
do feel isolated when you have cancer. When I first met Dave on the ward I work on,
he was sitting in the chair and he literally couldn't move. He had trouble talking, he
didn't have any appetite and I asked him come on, let me check how you're walking and he
couldn't get up out of the chair. It was start from there. Teaching him exercises to get
his legs stronger, to get in and out of the chair, walking, get on and off the bed.
The sessions we had, when she left, I felt different. She give me the incentive, she
give me the key to open the door to make me think 'why Phillips, I can beat this'.
When Pat went to bed at the night, she never knew it, but I went up one step, down one
step, up two steps down two steps and I managed over two months to get up the stairs.
The amount of work he has had to do to come to where is today is phenomenal. The work
he's put into it. You're independent aren't you?
Very independent. In my opinion she's an angel. I'd want people to be friendly with me you
know if I was going through things and that's how I like to treat people, how I'd like to
be treated. You kind of become part of the family.
Yeah that's very true. Without Macmillan, I would not have survived.
We give a donation to Macmillan every month. We have left Macmillan something in our will.
I will always always be in debt to Cathy and Macmillan, always.