Alice Springs man, 29, with 60 cancerous tumours opens up about his cancer battle, shares message of hope
EARLIER this year, 29-year-old Alice Springs man Philip Ballard was given a shock diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and told he had 60 micro-tumours throughout his body. But after an ‘18-week rollercoaster’, which involved six rounds of chemotherapy, his condition has greatly improved.
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WHEN Philip Ballard was diagnosed with cancer, doctors told him he was riddled with tumours all through his torso.
In May this year, the 29-year-old Alice Springs carpenter was given a shock diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a blood cancer that begins in the white blood cells called lymphocytes.
As the lymphatic system runs along the entire body, Mr Ballard said doctors found 60 micro-tumours across his body.
But after an “18-week rollercoaster”, which involved six rounds of chemotherapy, Philip’s condition greatly improved, and the tumours have significantly reduced in size.
He now has no signs or symptoms spare a small lump on his neck, having caught it an early stage – despite unknowingly living with the disease for two to three years.
“When you hear that cancer word, you’re super shocked. Everyone hates that word and you think it’s the worst possible thing,” he said.
“The doctor told me straight away it was treatable and it was common.
“You don’t think it will ever happen, let alone at that age, and being pretty fit and healthy. It was shocking.”
“The doctor said it was ‘just bad luck’ as I had no family history.”
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Mr Ballard said the chemo treatment he undertook was a trial the medical industry started five years ago.
“They only do it to the younger people who are fit and healthy … I was on a trial and it worked great,” he said.
“They smack you out hard at the start. The first four weeks was chemo every week.”
He said his treatment and the doctors at the Royal Darwin Hospital’s Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre were “state-of-the-art”.
He is now back living in Alice Springs and has two years of remission ahead of him.
Going forward, he is “trying to be as normal as (he) can be”, going to work and playing golf for exercise and mental health.
“Last week I got my very first hole-in-one after many years of being an ordinary golfer,” he said.
“You have to keep active and stay positive.”
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