We Will Still Fight for You

Last year, James and his family were preparing for a holiday abroad. To enter the country, he needed to get vaccinated against COVID-19. After the jab, James decided to pop into a local clinic to check on his liver, which he’d treated years ago and monitored occasionally. While his liver and lungs are in good shape, the doctor found over a litre of fluid in his pleura during an ultrasound.

“My wife and I went straight to another clinic for a CT scan,” James recalls. “The results came back that evening. My wife broke down, crying and repeating, ‘It’s cancer.’ However, I didn’t believe it. I felt fine—sure, I’d been coughing a bit, but I’ve smoked for years and always thought it was just smoker’s bronchitis. I read the CT report, got in the car, and drove to the clinic for clarity. The doctor reviewing my scan was direct: ‘This is advanced tumour.’ As I stepped outside, all I could think was, ‘I’ve got a month left, I’ve got a wife and daughter—how do I sort everything out in time?’”

Exploring Treatment Options: From Life Insurance to Abroad Consultations

James initially considered taking out life insurance to secure his family’s future. However, after learning the limitations, he shifted focus to treatment options. The local oncology department delivered devastating news: “It’s stage IV, metastasised everywhere. There’s nothing to operate on. And with HIV and hepatitis, you won’t survive chemotherapy.”

Refusing to accept this, James explored options abroad. He reached out to a consultancy firm in Germany that offered help for a fee of £30,000. Desperate, he sold his flat to raise the money. But his passport application was denied while arranging the travel documents in London. “I couldn’t breathe properly, let alone climb a flight of stairs, and the consultancy never returned our money. We were completely scammed.”

James’s condition worsened. Weighing less than nine stone, he searched for solutions, eventually registering with three leading oncology centres in London. The first two could offer nothing. But James met Dr David Pemberton, a chemotherapist at the Royal Marsden third.

“Dr. Pemberton and I had a frank conversation,” James says. “I told him, ‘If I’m going to die, let’s make it count.’ He looked at me and said, ‘We have targeted therapy and immunotherapy options. We’re not giving up on you.’ Hearing those words gave me hope for the first time.”

A Rare Mutation Leads to New Hope

After a series of tests, doctors discovered James had a rare genetic mutation. This opened the door to targeted drug therapy. “When Dr. Pemberton told me about the mutation, I thought, ‘Great, as if HIV and hepatitis weren’t enough.’ But this mutation was the key to my treatment. I registered at the centre, started taking medication, and within weeks, I felt like myself again. I could breathe normally, and by the first check-up, one of them was clear, and the tumour had halved in size.”

James now takes daily medication and starts every morning with a run. Besides minor side effects early on, his life has returned to normal. Determined to give back, James has become an advocate for patients. He runs a support group in London, offering practical help and emotional guidance. “We assist new patients with everything—from navigating referrals to arranging accommodations for those travelling outside the city. Many people don’t even know they can access specialist care under the NHS.”

A Past of Resilience: Overcoming Addiction

James’s journey of resilience began long before his Lung diagnosis. As a teenager, he fell into drug addiction after his local football club shut down. By 14, he was using drugs, alienating his family, and facing legal trouble. His girlfriend, now his wife, stayed by his side out of sheer hope. A turning point came when an old friend, now successful and thriving, encouraged him to seek help. James joined a Lung rehabilitation programme in Brighton and, over eight months, transformed his life.

“I worked through the 12-step programme, and everything slowly fell into place,” James recalls. “I repaired relationships with my family, married my girlfriend, and started helping others struggling with addiction.”

James discovered his HIV and hepatitis diagnoses during a routine military health screening. “By then, I’d developed resilience. I knew therapy existed to protect my family, and I could still have healthy children and a full life.”

He later opened a rehabilitation centre in Brighton, helping countless individuals rebuild their lives. “There’s nothing more rewarding than witnessing someone you’ve supported find purpose and joy again.”

Today, James lives in London and plans to expand psychological support services for cancer patients. “People still assume my Lung diagnosis is a death sentence, but I’m living proof that there’s always hope. As I often tell others: if you’re still breathing, there’s a way forward.”

Uri Linick’s Journey: Hope and Resilience

Uri Linick, 67, a father of four and grandfather of seven, talks about his battle with lung tumours and cancer and its results.

When you suspect such a terrible thing, you say to yourself: “Well, you smoked for 35 years; what did you expect?” My late father also suffered from the same tumour, and I think I always knew that this moment would come for me, too. Today, death is no longer at the door; it is a little further (about 20 kilometres), and therefore, it is not so scary.

It all started almost two years ago. I suffered from an endless cough that wouldn’t go away. Then I went to the doctor and told him that I probably had pneumonia. Of course, they immediately sent me for an X-ray and told me that I had pneumonia, but they also added: “You have a very suspicious spot in your lung, so next you go for a CT scan.”

The Diagnosis

I dutifully had a CT scan and then went to a pulmonologist who immediately sent me to the Hospital, where I was seen by  Dr. Alona Zer, who did not waste any time and immediately reviewed my case. Dr. Zer informed me that I had stage 3 lung cancer, and she was prescribing me the most aggressive treatment available for my case. I underwent 35 radiation and two chemotherapy treatments before finally receiving the good news after a PET/CT scan. It turned out that the malignancy was gone.

That same day, Dr Zehr gave me more good news: She told me about an immune drug that was right for me and that should help maintain the stability I had achieved after chemotherapy and radiation. The drug should stimulate my immune system to identify and attack the tumour. I told her I didn’t care about the medical details as long as she understood how to help me.

Treatment and Progress: Living with Side Effects

A week later, I received an email from her informing me that I would be the first patient to receive the drug at the hospital. Three weeks later, when I arrived for my first course, I discovered I was no longer the only one. Every two weeks, I would come in for an hour and a half to receive the treatment. Naturally, this was disruptive to my normal routine, but to my great joy, I am now on my 20th course, and exactly one week ago, I received the results of my latest PET/CT scan, which showed that I still have not progressed.

Side effects exist, but you can live and work with them. According to doctors, they completely disappear a few months after stopping cancer treatment. Given that I work physically and also outside, it is important that I can go to work every day.

Another very joyful thing was the discovery that I, unlike many patients, gained 20 kg, and not the other way around. They all constantly complain to each other about how many kilograms they have lost, but my thyroid gland works the other way around, and after regulating its function with pills, I stopped gaining weight.

I have quite a history. One of my daughters was diagnosed with Down syndrome when she was a baby, and one of my brothers died 45 years ago in the military. I have worked in education and teaching for 25 years, including three years as a principal. Maybe that is why a Lung tumour is not so scary to me.

Family Support: Overcoming the Emotional Toll

You must understand that the news of malignancy is not only a shock to the patient but also to his family. The discovery of my disease was received differently by family members. Some took it calmly, while others were very stressed and worried. You should not think that all is lost even after such news. We always try to be a strong family and comfort each other when necessary.

The most important tool that helped me overcome this difficult period was not to project fear. This way, you receive all the information available and are open to hearing everything offered to you, but you are not controlled by fear. Today, it is also easier for me to be encouraging and hopeful for those diagnosed with lung NSE disease. Today, there are many treatment options for it, and life does not end. There is hope, and I am living proof of that.