Oesophageal cancer: 'I was one of the lucky ones'

"It was a huge shock when I heard the words ‘you have cancer’."

Jack Carter was diagnosed with stage 3 oesophageal cancer when he was 25-years-old.

It began with a croaky throat and paralysed vocal cord, but soon Jack was unable to swallow his food.

The Wheatley resident, now 39, says he was "one of the lucky ones who won the battle" and now tries to live life to the fullest.

Alison Birkett, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the Oxford region, said: "Thanks to our supporters, our scientists are working tirelessly to help more people like Jack."

The charity describes oesophageal cancer as "stubbornly hard to treat".

"Currently doctors diagnose the disease using an endoscope, a flexible tube with a camera and light on the end that looks inside the body," it explained.

"One of the biggest challenges is detecting the disease early enough to intervene."

Jack's story begins with a cold in June 2010.

"The cold eventually went away but I still had a croak in my throat, and it was a strain to talk at times," he says.

"I managed to get a hospital referral and after some tests they discovered I had a paralysed vocal cord. I underwent some vocal therapy and it did help to some extent.

“But in Sept 2010, I choked on some food and coughed it back up and I just thought I hadn’t chewed enough. But it happened again in the December and I felt it getting stuck.

“I was at work and I took myself away, dialled 111 and told the operator I was choking and couldn’t swallow my saliva. She called an ambulance and they took me into hospital."

That Christmas Jack's mother had to liquidise his festive dinner as he could not eat solid food.

He received his diagnosis the following month after an endoscope.

Jack says receiving the news was "scary" but "I couldn’t eat properly, I had gone from 11 stone to eight and a half stone, so part of me was just relieved that I had a diagnosis".

"I had four cycles of chemo and 30 fractions of radiotherapy together. I could only take tablets in a liquid form due to my inability to swallow.

"I remember on the fifth day of treatment I woke up in agony. I lived off milk shakes full of calories to build up my strength."

Because he was "young and fit" doctors told Jack he was at an advantage, and did not require surgery.

He currently works as a technical specialist for Sky Sports.

He says: "As a result of my treatment, other than the need for glasses, a paralysed vocal cord, tinnitus, acid reflux and some health anxiety, which were side affects of my treatment, I live a very normal life."

He has called on people to take part in Stand Up To Cancer’s 100 squats a day challenge to help raise funds towards future cancer breakthroughs.

He says it was "thanks to research that I’m still standing and can look forward to a future full of special moments with my loved ones".

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