A routine medical check-up led to a man being diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, despite him having no symptoms. David Bamforth, 52, was alerted to an irregular presence of protein in his urine during a periodical check at work.
David, a railway operator for Freightliner, then discovered further issues after a blood test recommended by his personal trainer.
David, from Chelmorton, near Buxton in Derbyshire, said: “The blood test came back and everything was sort of fine except one test that was showing a bit of ambiguity. The doctor said that they may need another test because what it was showing was that my kidney function probably wasn’t where it should be.
“Results from that showed I was going towards kidney failure. They sent me for an ultrasound and to see a specialist, and for a more in depth blood test and it was from those blood tests they diagnosed me with myeloma.”
He was diagnosed with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer which kills around 3,000 in the UK each year, on September 3, 2021, reports DerbyshireLive.
After receiving his cancer diagnosis, David’s family, including wife Helen and son Sam, travelled to Rhodes for a family holiday. But the father-of-one admits that it was a lot harder to relax and enjoy the holiday after receiving his diagnosis.
He added: “We did try and relax and do the normal stuff we would do, but it was a slightly different holiday as you’d expect. As soon as they use the word cancer, it’s sort of the worst thing you could hear. Then we had to tell my parents and my son, and that was probably the hardest thing telling my family members.”
Upon their return home, David met with his consultant and he was started on chemotherapy. Since October 2021 David has been having chemotherapy every four weeks to reduce his symptoms and increase his chances of survival.
As well as this, his diagnosis also changed his daily routine, which now includes daily medication and injections.
David said: “I get tired a lot more and normally have a nap in the afternoon, it’s that time of day that I just feel exhausted. I’m on lots of medication daily which I have to take at certain times, I have to inject myself at certain times and I’m at hospital twice a week.
“I can’t do my normal job because it's safety critical, so I’m just office-bound at the moment, just working three or four hours three days a week.”
Now, David has turned his attention to fundraising for Myeloma UK to help fund vital research into a cure. After contracting COVID-19 and pneumonia in December, David was hospitalised for 12 days, and as a result has trouble with his breathing.
But he is still determined to fundraise as much as possible for the charity.
David said: “It was more a joke at the start. My friend said, ‘Why don’t we jump out of a plane?’. In the end we decided we could do a bike ride. It is going to be a challenge but I’ve been practising and it’s not been too bad.
“Going up the stairs knocks me back because of my breathing but cycling seems to be OK, though doing 50 miles might be a bit different. But it’s not a race, I have all day to do 50 miles.
“The bike ride is something to focus on, and not worry too much about the cancer. I take it one day at a time. When I’ve been to one appointment, I look to the next appointment. I’m trying not to look too far ahead.”
David and his friend, Mat Wilkinson, are set to embark on the ride from Scarborough to Whitby on April 2, along with around 20 of his friends, in a bid to raise £15,000 for Myeloma UK and fund research into a cure.
David is also currently awaiting a stem cell transplant, which he’ll hopefully receive two to four weeks after completing his bike ride. Anyone wishing to donate can access David’s fundraiser here.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
