It was a huge moment for Jason Clifton to be able to break the news of his cancer diagnosis to his young family.
He had decided to wait until after Christmas before telling his children of the battle which lay ahead. But, tragically, he was to receive heartbreaking news on the very same day. And even that was not the end of it for Jason and his family.
Jason, from Tumble in Carmarthenshire, received his devastating cancer news just three days before Christmas last year. Tests had revealed how he had a Squamous Cell Carcinoma - a type of cancer that develops in squamous cells, which are the thin, flat cells that make up the outermost layer of your skin - in his throat. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
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“It was scary times for me regarding how I was going to explain to my family about my diagnosis,” said Jason, aged 48. “On December 28, I broke the news to my children and it was difficult, but they needed to know, as I was not going to be able to return to my work in January as I was to undergo 30 rounds of radiotherapy and two lots of chemotherapy over three months.
“I also had further bad news between my diagnosis and having my treatment as I lost my dad on December 28, which was a huge blow to me and my system. It did not stop there as we lost a further three family members, including my dad’s brother.
"I was finding it so hard, but I had support from my family, friends and neighbours and also from the head and neck cancer department in Carmarthen's Glangwili Hospital. They were so professional in helping me in all ways possible, also HR Staff from Alun Griffiths where I work would check in on me from week to week to see if there was anything I needed or if they could help in any way, which was amazing.”
Over the next few weeks, Jason began his treatment, something which he admitted was frightening because he “did not have a clue” how he was going to react. However, thanks to the “professional” and “amazing” staff at Glangwili Hospital and Singleton Hospital in Swansea, he said he was able to make progress and begin the road to recovery. The isolation of being stuck at home, however, was difficult for someone used to being out and about and at work.
“When I arrived home I was all good, but I found it very hard as I couldn't go out because it was raining, cold and windy every day," he said. "Also, due to Covid and me being classed as a vulnerable person, I had to keep myself safe. But to go from working with people every day in your life to not going anywhere and being stuck at home was so hard for me; just going to have my treatments every day was the highlight of my day because I was getting out of the house.”
Once his treatments had finished, it was a new-found love of running which not only got him get out of the house, but helped him give something back to those who had helped him overcome the toughest challenge of his life. He is now in the process of running an incredible 200km in 31 days, raising money for Hywel Dda Health Charities, with proceeds going to the head and neck cancer department in Glangwili Hospital and the radiotherapy team in Singleton Hospital. With still a week of the challenge to go, Jason has already raised more than £1,100.
"I took up running after my treatment had finished," he said. "Getting out in nature helped me massively, and I decided to run 200km in August to help others. Thanks to all those that were with me on my journey through tough times for all your help and support. Thankyou to my wife and my daughter and my two sons and my future son-in-law for his support, also my mum and brothers and to all my neighbours, friends and work colleagues for the phone calls.
"Thank you to the Carmarthen head and neck cancer team and Singleton radiotherapy and chemotherapy units, and my specialist oncologist doctor who was amazing - thank you for all your help in supporting me.”
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