Interview 11

Age at Interview: 18

Sex: Male

Age at Diagnosis: 14

Background: University student, single lives with parents; participates in the activities of a local cancer support group for young people.

Brief outline:Diagnosed in 2000 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Treatment consisted of chemotherapy (intravenous and in tablet form), intrathecal chemotherapy, aspariganese injections, steroids. His treatment lasted more that 3 years. In remission.

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Joked about how he decided to give up taking the 'anti' side effect tablets he used to take.



Tell me about side effects, did they talk to you about it?

Not, I really don't remember. I don't think it was mentioned a lot, I think the side effects vary so much from person to person that instead of telling you a whole list of everything that you possibly could have, they just wait until you ring up and say “I've got such and such an ache” or “such and such hurts” and they'd say “Oh no, that's normal.”

And what was your experience regarding side effects?

It varied. I mean I had these headaches after lumbar punctures and they really were one of the worst things. Some of the other drugs, I think it was the sitarobin, that makes you, made me very nauseous, so they gave me anti-sickness tablets. But it was, it was often that you'd have a side effect to one thing so they give you something else which gives you another side effect and you think I'll just go back to the original side effect and [laughs] that way I've got less things to remember to take.
Teenage cancer

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