Interview Section : YouthHealthtalk

Interview 10

Age at Interview: 19

Sex: Male

Age at Diagnosis: 15

Background: Student and works for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Single; lives with parents

Brief outline:Diagnosed in 2001 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Further tests revealed that he had the Philadelphia chromosome. Treatment: chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. In remission since 2001.

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He does not remember been told he had leukemia but gradually picked up that this was his diagnosis.
Print Who told you, you had leukaemia? My consultant at the, oh who told me I had, I, it, I never remember being told that I had leukaemia, I remember being told obviously but I, I don't remember it registering and I didn't really understand what it was until I started talking about it more and finding more about it. Because I went into the teenage unit and I was, everyone had obviously been in there for a while because they had like the hair loss and a bit pale, a bit skinny and stuff like this. And I had, when I was first taken in there it was kind of like this is what I'm going to look like and I didn't understand like what was going on, I didn't think I had the same, it was a hospital, I didn't think I had the same thing as everyone else. So I never actually remember being told that I had it, I kind of just picked it up. I probably was told over and over again.

full list of topics

Discovery :

Hospitals, doctors and treatments :

Side-effects, feelings and coping strategies :

Self-image and fertility :

Living with it :

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