Hong Kong cancer survivors on their personal challenges and why they want to dispel the stigma of talking physical and mental health
- Wilde, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, hopes his story gives men ‘a little kick up the a***’
- Stigma ‘bloody stupid’ and ‘incredibly unhelpful’ say fellow cancer-survivors Hart and Swatton
As the city endures another month in this traumatic year, it must be remembered that – similar to the coronavirus – physical and mental challenges are not subject to tiredness or burnout. The causes and symptoms can range from mild headaches from work stress, to depression from being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
To help dispel such long-standing yet illogical stigma, three long-serving members of the rugby community have shared their stories of cancer survival. They, like many more, are teaming up with the likes of Movember, the Hong Kong Cancer Fund, Talking Mental, Round Tables HK, Phenomenally Pink and various other organisations of differing scales working towards the same cause: to raise awareness and funds for those whose lives have been impacted by “the C word”.
“I was diagnosed with my cancer just before the Hong Kong Football Club Tens in September 2017,” said Gareth “Gaz” Wilde, chairman of the tournament’s organising committee and part of the rugby community since moving to the city 14 years ago.
Wilde, 42, was told he had stage 3 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a cancer that starts in the immune system’s white blood cells – after doctors had found a tumour in his lymph during a standard check-up. Initial diagnoses were much worse, with family and friends fretting over Wilde potentially having a more serious form of pancreatic cancer.
“The kind of cancer that I got was pretty developed, but it went from being a pretty horrendous, pretty serious week to slightly less serious. The cancer was not an aggressive form, so the treatment spread out over a longer period of time,” he said.
