Garth Lamont is looking forward to being able to give something back after all the care he received from Friends of Anchor.
He had originally signed up to take part in Brave in 2019 after being diagnosed with neck cancer at the age of 60.
Mr Lamont had gone to the doctor after discovering a lump on his neck and at first it was thought to just be a swollen gland.
He was given a course of antibiotics and told to return if it was still there in six to eight weeks’ time.
After carrying on with work and going on holiday, Mr Lamont realised the lump had not gone away and his wife, Elaine, encouraged him to go back to the doctor.
He was sent for an ultrasound and a biopsy – but cancer had never crossed his mind.
Mr Lamont works as a slater at the Dunnecht Estate, which is a physical job where he is constantly on the go.
“I was a bit surprised,” he admitted. “I hadn’t lost weight or my appetite, it just came out of the blue.
“Cancer didn’t even cross my mind, but neck cancer, I’d never really heard of it or come across anybody with it.”
He then had to get his tonsils removed and after another biopsy it was discovered the primary cancer was behind his tonsil, and the secondary cancer was in his neck.
He needed to have teeth extracted from the back of his mouth before he could begin his eight-week course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Staff were ‘fantastic’
Determined to keep his independence, Mr Lamont would drive himself to the Friends of Anchor unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment five days a week and set himself goals to get through each day.
After getting his tonsils removed, Mr Lamont saw other men going in for treatment and needing feeding tubes. He was determined to do anything possible to avoid “going through that”.
The staff at the unit would help patients pass the time by putting on movies throughout the day, serving ice creams and refreshments.
“I had a manicure and got my nails checked all through Friends of Anchor, things I would normally never be getting done,” he laughed. “But, it was just anything to distract you from getting chemo.
“It was great and the staff were fantastic.”
The grandfather was also given a thermometer to monitor his temperature through Friends of Anchor. It proved useful towards the end of his treatment when he needed to go into hospital for 10 days after being diagnosed with sepsis.
Having a positive attitude was really important to Mr Lamont during his treatment.
“It was strange when I got diagnosed,” he said. “I felt okay about it, I always thought I was going to get over it, I never had a negative thought about it really.
“I’d say to anybody who gets diagnosed with cancer one of the main things is to be positive, have a positive attitude.”
‘You can’t really thank people enough’
He added: “But, it was hard telling my daughters, that’s hard even thinking about it now.”
Mr Lamont said his family had been really supportive throughout his experience which has also been a big help.
He also has a stepson and a stepdaughter who all rallied round him, while his wife would take time off work to take him to appointments when he could no longer drive himself.
“You can’t really thank people enough,” he said. “It would be very difficult without people to help you, there’s no doubt about it, even though I’m very independent and like to do things myself.
“At the end of the day, you still needed people to help around you. They were always there when you needed them, even if it was just a phone call or whatever just to help you through or cook a meal or whatever.”
After he was given the all-clear in December 2019 he went back to work shortly before being put on furlough during lockdown.
However, in early February 2021, the doctors found he had cancer in his tongue, but were able to remove the tumour.
Although the doctors are happy with his progress now, they are keeping an eye on him and it has affected his eating, which is a challenging side effect for the self-proclaimed “foodie”.
However, he still has hope that he will keep getting better and he will be able to enjoy food and drink once more.
Looking forward to giving something back
Mr Lamont read about Brave in the Press and Journal and after talking to his wife he decided to “give it a go”.
He signed up in 2019 and everything was going smoothly until Covid cancelled the show for two years.
Even though he is back to working full-time now, he still wanted to take part this year to support Friends of Anchor.
He said: “I didn’t really know much about them before that, it’s nae until you actually need them that you realise how much work they’re doing and the money they’re raising.
“All the guys that I’ve met at Brave have been fantastic, you can chat to anybody about anything and they all seem a great bunch of lads.”
He added: “I’m looking forward to doing Brave and raising some money to give something back.”
Brave takes place at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen on May 5 and 6. Tickets are on sale now, visit the Friends of Anchor website to join the waiting list.
