This is Adam
Adam is a special friend here at Transcend Health. He came to see us to build strength and improve his endurance after cancer treatment. Earlier this year, Adam had a relapse and had to head back for more treatment. We’ll be sharing his story as we help him rebuild post-cancer treatment.
Q: How did you first hear about Transcend?
A: Jacci and I have known each other for a long time so when I needed rehabilitation from my first bout with cancer Transcend was an obvious choice for me
Q: What were the main goals that you were hoping to achieve with our help?
A: Rehabilitation from muscle atrophy and increased mobility for a better quality of life
Q: In what way has Jacci/Duncan/Caity helped you achieve these goals?
A: Jacci has helped me greatly on the path to my goals in our sessions by keeping me motivated and on target, aside from that the whole team at Transcend have been amazingly supportive and genuinely want to see you succeed
Q: What’s the biggest benefit you’ve noticed since coming to Transcend?
A: It’s early in my treatment so far but even after a few sessions I’ve noticed a big difference in my strength and confidence in everyday movement.
Q: Any advice for anyone who is thinking of coming to Transcend Health?
A: I highly recommend seeing the team and letting them help you on your goals. They are honest and really want to help. My advice would be give it a go, you won’t regret it.
Q: Tell us a bit more about your journey with Cancer so far.
A: I was diagnosed in October 2015 with a large Germ Cell Tumour likely caused by testicular cancer, one of the scariest moments in my life. From diagnosis to treatment was around a week, it was very fast and hard to really know what was going on. I started chemotherapy and my official treatment. 18 Chemo treatments and 4 months later my tumour and reduced in size slightly and the cancer had substantially reduced in activity. In this time I lost approximately 40kgs body mass. After a short recovery period, I was sent to the RPA hospital in Sydney to have the tumour removed, the tumour had damaged my femoral artery and femoral nerve in my left leg but luckily had not impacted any of my organs. I started my rehabilitation with Jacci at Transcend a few months later after re-learning to walk. I enjoyed around 18months of remission before a routine appointment with my oncologist revealed that my cancer had returned, much more aggressive. A new Chemo regime was given to me and I subsequently had 12 further treatments. I handled this period much better than the last. After that treatment, I was informed that we would now be perusing a Stem cell transplant (bone marrow transplant in the old terminology) After harvesting 3.2million stem cells from my own blood the high dose chemo begun. Over 3 days 6 doses of chemo were administered and after a 2-day recovery, 2 million stem cells were reintroduced into my bloodstream to hopefully repair the damage the chemotherapy had done to my bone marrow. After a long recovery, a second round of this high dose chemo and stem cell transplant was done and after another month in hospital, I was allowed home. After 10 weeks recovery from the transplant, I have begun my rehabilitation at Transcend and will get results in a few months time from my doctors regarding of any more treatments are required.
Our Accredited Exercise Physiologist Jacci is proving exercise for people with cancer in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter Region. She is the facilitator of the Cancer Council’s ENRICHing Survivorship Program in Newcastle and Surrounds. She accepts referrals from GP’s, Specialists and other health professionals. To learn more about how Jacci can help you, please give us a call on 4961 3399.