Four years on from a terminal cancer diagnosis Stella Childs, 67 from Hertfordshire, is still here, still walking 1000 miles, and still having fun!
‘They found the brain tumours first. I had a fit, was admitted to hospital and late that evening, a doctor told me “We’ve found a lesion in your brain." It turned out to be three ‘aggressively invasive metastases’ – and a 3.5cm tumour in my left lung which was probably the primary cancer.
Taking down my medical history, the doctor asked how far I could comfortably walk. We were doing the Hertfordshire Way in sections at the time and replied: "Comfortably about 10 to 12 miles I guess”. He looked at me astonished and said ‘People with your condition can't usually walk to the end of the road without having a rest!’
A week later my GP phoned to ask how I was doing, then told me she would be passing me on to the Palliative Care Team. It was a shock. Like I’d been written off. But on a beautiful walk soon after, one of my favourites along the water meadows by Redbournbury Mill, I stopped to absorb the view and thought "I'm not dead yet, and I'm not going to die soon!" I resolved worry wouldn’t blight my life, and I would just deal with events as they unfolded and appreciate every experience.
I had a Gamma Knife procedure, and three sessions of radiation a day every day for two weeks. But we carried on walking. A follow-up MRI revealed another three brain tumours. More procedures. Then another two tumours, in my right lung and yet another in my brain. More Gamma Knife treatments.
My brain remained clear, but in December a CT scan revealed the original tumour had grown, and there were others, one on my shoulder and one in my armpit. But now we could take a biopsy – and thankfully it showed my cancer could be kept under control with Immunotherapy. I finished a two-year course in time for 2023 and I’m now monitored every three months. I’m also well over 800 miles!
Walking’s given me so much – the peace, the views, the flora and fauna I’ve been lucky to see and the wonderful people I’ve been lucky to meet. Not to mention the daft games my husband and I make up while walking. It just puts everything into perspective – and the challenge has been wonderful. It gives me extra focus, I love doing the mini challenges and the compassion shown in people's posts is so comforting. The support the community gives is so uplifting. My resolve has been strengthened hugely by the walking community. I know it gives people strength to go on.”
