Patient Stories – Dave
Dave Tew, 53, is a former West Country bike cop. His job involved shift work and stress, and in the 1990s he began suffering from bowel problems. But it was not until 2004 that he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour.
It was in the summer of 2002 in the glorious surroundings of Greece that Dave Tew experienced 48 hours of severe pain. He was in the middle of a motorcycle training course in Volos, in central Greece, and his problems were put down to exhaustion and dehydration.
With the benefit of hindsight Dave believes this when a neuroendocrine tumour in his bowel really started to make its presence felt.
The painful experience was the culmination of four years of discomfort that he had put down to his busy lifestyle and stress.
A police officer since 1973, Dave was engaged in a number of different roles during his 25 year career, from driving instructor to being one of the first officers to man armed response vehicles. He took courses in anti-ambush techniques and VIP protection and then worked in his most enjoyable job as a motorbike patrol officer – a bike cop.
After the problems in Greece, matters worsened. ‘In early 2003 my GP diagnosed me as having full blown irritable bowel syndrome.’
During 2003 and into 2004 Dave kept returning to his GP. ‘She told me there was nothing she could do. I had irritable bowel syndrome and I would have to learn to live with it.’
Eventually Dave chose to see a consultant privately. After a barrage of tests that proved inconclusive he was referred to a surgeon.
‘He told me I had an intussusception of the small bowel that he likened to the kinking of a hosepipe resulting in a blockage of the bowel.’
It was during this surgery that a carcinoid tumour was discovered – and at long last Dave had an explanation for the years of pain and discomfort that he had suffered.
‘What the surgeon had discovered was life threatening. It was a carcinoid tumour that had taken over the blood supply to the majority of the intestines and bowel. I was lucky to survive the operation.’
Although the surgeon was able to remove a substantial amount of the tumour, some has remained.
Dave, who left the police force in 1998 after suffering post traumatic stress following a fatal coach crash he attended as an officer, then went in to IT and website design.
He knew his way around the Internet and after discovering there was no-one local specialising in NETs he eventually found a clinic at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
‘Initially no treatment was necessary because body scans showed that the remaining tumours that I had were small, medically insignificant and were not involving major organs.’
This was great news and Dave used the opportunity to take a holiday to the Caribbean with his supportive wife, Lauren, a motor bike trip to France, a week in the Canaries and a return to the Caribbean for a one month cruise with his father.
Dave admits that a sense of hope had crept into his life.
‘But all this ended abruptly when follow up body scans in January 2006 revealed new tumours in the spleen and liver and that the other tumours were bigger.’
Dave is now deciding with his doctor the best course of treatment.
But Dave is a determined soul and his intention is to carry on living life to the full and with purpose.
Since his diagnosis Dave has been actively involved in fund raising for a new charity that he has founded called Let’s Beat Cancer that in turn is raising money for the Royal Free’s Quiet Cancer Therapy Appeal.
He says ‘The aim of the charity is to raise awareness of carcinoid and raise funds. My new website provides links to other helpful sites such as Cancer BACUP and Cancer Research UK.’
He has roped in friends who will be parachuting, climbing, diving and abseiling to raise money for his new charity that will be officially launched in May.
Among the fund raising events Dave is a sponsored bike ride round Europe in June plus a sponsored 5,000 motorbike ride to Greece and back in September.
Dave adds ‘The morale of this story is simple. Don’t put off until tomorrow something you can do today. You never know what lies around the corner. One in three of us will have cancer at some time in our lifetime, 35% before we reach the age of 60. Of course – it always happens to someone else – doesn’t it?’
For further details click onto the News section or view Dave’s site letsbeatcancer.org.uk
