Nigel was a good friend and “a proper gent” who Sabine and I had met twice at Telford. Being a fellow emigre to France we had much in common – aside from modelling WWI aeroplanes! He was helpful in getting my UK voting rights sorted out, among other things.
As I understand it, we also shared an “association” with kidney cancer – I have been enormously fortunate so far, in that the removal of my tumour was done before it had spread too far – Nigel was not so lucky, it seems.
It is obvious that Nigel’s loss saddens me deeply but I was taught to try to find some good in bad situations and in this case let me urge anyone reading this to look to their own health. Having led a life free from any serious illness, in the last year there were six "attempts on my life": one from heart disease (cured just in time with a stent implant) followed by the urgent removal of a kidney and its attendant 1.5kg tumor. Then a bout of toxic shock syndrome (luckily before I left hospital). More recently two epileptic episodes caused by the cancer reappearing in two areas of my brain, one before and one after a totally unrelated diverticulitis abscess in my colon, which required further surgery.
I mention all this not to elicit any sympathy (heaven forbid!!!!) or to divert anything from Nigel’s death but simply to say that, had I not made a considerable effort to gain some fitness through cycling (working up to 100-150kms per week) and moderating my diet – particularly alcohol consumption – in the last two years (and before the problems showed up), my various doctors and surgeons are convinced that I would not have survived these multiple assaults – I simply would not have had the fitness for my raddled 64 year old body to cope. They all (surgeons, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, helicopter pilot - yep, seriously! - , administrators, cleaners and all the others I forgot to mention) did an outstanding job on the medical care front and we owe them all an obligation to help them to help us.
Please, please, do look to your own health, it may not save you, we all succumb eventually, but it just might give you a better chance of survival and help your health workers to get the best results from their dedicated efforts.
One last point: I read that 75% of kidney cancers are discovered by chance – usually as the result of some other investigation of medical symptoms – and that these discoveries usually occur in people aged 63, on average. It seems that because we have two kidneys, if one is attacked by the cancer and ceases or reduces functioning, the other one gradually “takes up the slack” and we just don’t notice – I can say from personal experience that my one remaining kidney is doing fine! So if you have anything untoward appear (I think in Nigel’s case it was back pain, in mine it showed up in an echography examination related to heart arrhythmia)– see your doctor as soon as you can; Kidney Cancer can be cured very often if it is caught early enough.
I don’t mean to sound “preachy” but seriously, do at least consider getting yourself into better shape – you are never too old to start an exercise regime but do it gently at first, for goodness sake!
Miss you, Nigel.
Rowan
