This Bear recently survived both COVID-19 and cancer. Here’s his story.
This past year, COVID-19 has affected our society in many ways. People in countries all across the globe have had to rethink and restructure how they live, work and exist in everyday life, putting many out of work and causing family and cultural dynamics to shift.
While only a mild sickness for some, the invisible demon known as COVID-19 is causing serious illness for many, and has killed over two million people worldwide. However, when quoting these statistics, it’s easy for some to forget that each one of those numbers has a story attached to it. These aren’t just numbers, these are actual lives.
While many have thankfully survived COVID and gotten through to the other side, the challenges, in many cases, were some of the most difficult they’ve ever faced. Many still suffer symptoms, and some will have lasting complications for an unspecified amount of time. For many, it was a truly arduous journey and they’ve come out the other end of it a survivor.
One such person is my friend Eddie Burrows from England. At the height of the pandemic, Eddie, an essential worker just outside London, was diagnosed with COVID-19. While being given medical care for the virus, the doctors also made another discovery — Eddie had a cancerous tumor in his lung.
Eddie completed chemotherapy in late 2020 and recently completed surgery last month. I had a chat with him to discuss his journey with both COVID-19 and lung cancer and how it has affected him.
Kyle Jackson: How did your experience with COVID-19 begin, and how did it lead to you also being diagnosed with lung cancer?
Eddie Burrows: On Monday April 6, I was at work when I suddenly felt a dry spot appear at the back of my throat. As the day went on, I started to cough a bit. I had the next day off, and that’s when my cough really kicked off. I phoned in to work to say I was experiencing a possible COVID-19 symptom and suggested I take a week out to be safe.
I then started to experience what felt like a mixture of a cold and hayfever, but as it got close to the weekend it lifted and I felt fine. Then Sunday is when I came down with a fever and called 111, the UK’s NHS advice line for people who aren’t sure if they should make a doctor’s appointment or call for emergency assistance. They recommended that I keep an eye on things and, if I got any worse, to call them again, or call 999.
By the night of Friday April 17, I still wasn’t feeling great. I called 111 again and they passed me through to 999. An ambulance was sent out and, after checks in my bedroom, it appeared my lungs weren’t filling to a decent capacity. I was taken to A&E around 2am Saturday April 18.
They swabbed me and I was given an X-ray before being taken to a room for the night. In the morning I was greeted by a doctor who told me there appeared to be something in my right lung, and so was sent for a CT scan. As it turns out there was a mass of 8x8x4cm near my heart, along with some spots around the lower lining of the same lung.
KJ: How did you feel after your hospital stay? Did you still have some difficulty breathing after getting over COVID?
EB: After a few nights at hospital, I was released on April 22 and although I felt better in a way, I was very weak and my lungs were smashed from the COVID-19. I couldn’t talk more than three words per breath. It took me about a month to breathe at a regular level again.
KJ: What were the next steps with the mass they found in your lung, and when did they confirm your diagnosis?
EB: Next were more scans and tests, leading up to a double biopsy on June 5. I was given the results a couple days before my birthday, June 15, that I indeed did have cancer. It was something called Thymoma, a rare kind that is often associated with another condition called myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease resulting in skeletal weakness.
I had tests for that, but luckily it appears I don’t have it. I went back to work for about a month in late June to late July, and then started chemotherapy from August 5. I went every three weeks for a total of six sessions, the last being on November 18.
After 3 sessions, I had a progress CT scan, and then after the last one I had another for comparison. It was confirmed that the tumour had shrunk enough to make surgery a more viable option. I then spent December recovering from the chemotherapy, which had left my immune system weakened and all my hair had fallen out fairly early on.
As January came around, my hair started trying to grow back with soft light angel hair, although quite sharp in places, especially my face, so I shaved it until it thickened a bit. I then got a date for my operation, which was on January 25. Luckily it was via keyhole, so I have been left with minimal scarring and the recovery won’t take as long.
I’m already walking around town to get exercise and help get my lungs going again. I’m still feeling a bit breathy, and my chest feels tight around my right breast area, along with scattered areas of soreness, numbness and slight swelling, but it’s manageable. Next is probably some radiation therapy to help round things off. I’m hoping to get back to work by the summer.
KJ: All of this seemed to happen really quickly! I’m sure you were under lots of stress and anxiety. How did you cope with it all?
EB: I think just having friends like you who have been there for me online and through Zoom helped a lot. Just having folks to talk helps more than people realize. I also listen to lots of music, mostly 80s and 90s Pop and R&B. That definitely helps me to relax.
Also, I love watching TV shows and web series like RuPaul’s Drag Race, of course, and Katya and Trixie’s UNHhhh on YouTube. I could always count on my favourite queens to keep me entertained through it all!
KJ: How has this experience affected you, and has it made you look at life or anything differently?
EB: It’s actually knocked my anxiety down a lot! Like, suddenly things that got me unstuck don’t seem to catch me… at least right now. I’ll probably feel something later!
Once things get better and begin to open up, I do want to do more and take more chances in life. I know now more than ever that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, so I’m gonna live life!
KJ: One more thing… UK, hun?
EB: Ding, dang, dong!
Follow Eddie Burrows on Facebook and Twitter.
