“Stay at home and save lives,” says dad with terminal cancer in moving video

Dad-of-two Alistair Kettlewell is living with terminal cancer, and is classed in the “at risk” category and will be in isolation until June. He has recorded a #StayHomeSaveLives message for Macmillan in Yorkshire.

“I’m still in active cancer treatment and need to take measures to protect myself,” says Alistair, 41, from Leeds.

“The best way for us to make this go away and get back to normality is to stop the spread of the virus.”

In January Alistair started a fundraising challenge in support of Macmillan Cancer Support by running a lap of every racecourse in the UK on a race day in 2020. He ran at two courses (Doncaster and Southwell) before lockdown and he plans to continue when safe to do so.

Super-fit Alistair was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in June 2017, at the age of 38.

“I’d just run a marathon and I felt awful, just constantly tired. At first I put it down to recovering from the distance, then it got to the point that I couldn’t walk to work any more.”

He visited his GP and was sent for tests which revealed he had incurable stage 4 oesophageal cancer, but he could try chemotherapy as a means of prolonging his life. “My life changed overnight, I was suddenly being told I had cancer and that any treatment I had probably wouldn’t work, that it might finish me off.”

He was told without treatment he could have just one month to live, with he could have a year. Through various bouts of treatment Alistair is now three years post-diagnosis. The signs are that the cancer is under some control and managed by the drug Herceptin. He has scans every three months.

“The current treatment I’m receiving is keeping the cancer away and I’m hoping this will continue for as long as it can or until the point that something better comes along.”

Alistair is passionate about the positive effects of physical activity for people affected by cancer.

“I was fairly driven by my career and running, I wanted to approach my cancer diagnosis in the same way. The challenges give me something to focus on. If there’s one piece of advice I would give to people affected by cancer it would be to get active.

“Ten minutes a day is better than nothing. It’s about finding your new normal and sometimes pushing yourself to do a little bit more than you would’ve done normally. Cancer takes so much away from you, your dreams included, this gives you a goal to aim for.”

Comprehensive information and support, including Macmillan’s latest guidance and advice on the impact of coronavirus on cancer care, is available on www.macmillan.org.uk/coronavirus/cancer-and-coronavirus

The charity’s online community continues to provide invaluable emotional and peer support.

The Macmillan Support Line is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm on 0808 808 0000.