Cancer can be the ‘best thing’ to happen to you, says sufferer

CANCER can have a devastating impact on families - but one sufferer thinks his illness could have been the ‘best thing’ to have happened in his life.
Alex Thomas is pursuing a career in music following a diagnosis of gum cancer SUS-141010-113320001Alex Thomas is pursuing a career in music following a diagnosis of gum cancer SUS-141010-113320001
Alex Thomas is pursuing a career in music following a diagnosis of gum cancer SUS-141010-113320001

Positive-thinking Alex Thomas, 27, of Selden Road, Worthing, believes his gum cancer battle prompted him to leave his supermarket job to pursue his dream of being a musician.

He has come forward with his story to emphasise a diagnosis is not a death sentence.

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“It is a disease that can change your life for the better sometimes,” he said.

People are terrified of the word and rightfully so but a light needs to be shined on it that just because you’ve got the disease, it is not the end.

“I accept it’s a terrible disease and people do die but you can get over it.

Alex was first diagnosed with gum cancer three years ago, after suffering a series of root canal problems.

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Three of his teeth had fallen out unexpectedly and his pain had got worse, when he was sent for a biopsy by his dentist.

Just 48 hours later, he was diagnosed with the disease.

Two weeks later, he was being hooked up to a drip for his first course of chemotherapy.

He said: “That was the panic time, where I was going from being normal 24 year old to having a drip put in my arm.

“It is a gradual process but you do have to adapt to it pretty quickly.”

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Due to the rigours of the treatment, Alex had to leave his regular job.

He had always held a burning ambition to forge a career in music but never followed it through, until his diagnosis.

He said: “I had always been part of little bands when I was younger but when I got my diagnosis, it pushed me into doing something I wanted to do. My old job wasn’t fulfilling.

“My ultimate ambition is to create a platform where I can do music full time. I have done gigs pretty much everywhere you can in Brighton, along with my backing band.”

For the full story, see the Herald, out Thursday, October 16.

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