Anthony Lawrence: artist and myeloma survivor
59-year old Hampshire artist and father of five Anthony Lawrence, was diagnosed with Light Chain Multiple Myeloma in October 2008. Brought up in Bedfordshire, Anthony now lives in the New Forest with wife Lesley who he met aged 16, along with their four dogs, two cats, two cockerels and five chickens.
Anthony’s diagnosis followed the removal of a lump from one shoulder. When physiotherapy didn’t appear to ease mobility, and his shoulder showed little sign of getting better, the former Tai Chi teacher then started getting other pains.
A visit to his GP led him to believe that he had gallstones, but a further visit to a consultant revealed that something more serious was behind Anthony’s symptoms. “I told the consultant how I was feeling, and halfway through, he started being very nice to me” says Anthony. “I thought to myself, something must really be wrong.”
Anthony underwent a series of tests, and the next day received a phone call at his studio. He was told the devastating news that he had Light Chain Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer that develops from plasma cells in the bone marrow and causes weakness of the bones, and which his father had sadly died from within a month of diagnosis.
Following his diagnosis, Anthony was advised to be treated at Southampton General Hospital, a specialist regional unit for haematology services.
A month later, Anthony began a course of intensive chemotherapy, but unfortunately this proved unsuccessful. Anthony woultd need a second course of chemotherapy and a vast number of drugs to support the treatment, including a new drug being trialled at the time.
“At one stage I was taking 30 pills a day” recalls Anthony. “It wasn’t particularly pleasant taking so many steroids, and some of them didn’t agree with me, but you just have to fight through it.”
It became clear that Anthony would need a bone marrow transplant, to revive his old marrow so that it could go on to produce new and healthy blood cells, and 10 months after initial diagnosis, his transplant went ahead in August 2009.
“The time spent waiting for the transplant was difficult and of course I felt unwell” says Anthony. “But everything meant a lot more to me because I was in such a vulnerable position – not material things, which never really meant much to me, but things like family and friends, and company. You come to realise that material success takes second place to contentment.”
Spending the next 4 weeks in isolation on the transplant unit, Anthony’s wife and children visited most days, and son George who had been living and working in Tokyo, made the decision to return home.
Reflecting on this point in his treatment, Anthony says “You find yourself thinking, either it’s going to work and you’ll get better, or you’ll get to the point where you won’t feel anything at all.”
Maintaining a positive outlook on the time in isolation, Anthony explains, “I felt fortunate when I compared myself to other patients. I was lucky to have got the illness at my age, as I’d already had a good life and done the things I wanted to do.”
“I was also incredibly lucky with the support I had from my family and of course the care that I received from the team at Southampton General Hospital. Everyone was absolutely fantastic: from the consultants, nurses and clinicians, right down to the cleaners. I can’t thank them enough for my time on the unit.”
Thankfully Anthony’s transplant was a success, and he was allowed home later that month. However, he would still need to be closely monitored and with a low immune system, would need to take care with those visiting him to ensure that he did not catch any illnesses.
Now on the road to recovery, he still needs to make regular visits to Southampton General Hospital, to receive top-up treatment and to ensure that his condition continues to improve. Although happily painting again, Anthony is unable to lift anything heavier than 5lbs and has to miss out on activities such as skiing, a hobby which he previously enjoyed.
Nevertheless, Anthony is comfortable with life after his transplant, saying, “One of the lessons I’ve learnt is just to enjoy the moment.”
He goes on to explain that he is looking forward to the completion of the new outpatient treatment unit at Southampton General Hospital, which will be funded by the Red & White Appeal and used by patients such as himself. “The environment in the current facilities is outdated and inefficient. The nurses and staff do extremely well to overcome the deficiencies of the area, but the new unit will make it so much easier for nursing staff and their patients.”
Anthony continues, “The better the environment, the less stress on the patients, and the happier everyone will be.”
Grateful for the expert care that he received at Southampton General Hospital, Anthony and his family are supporting Southampton Hospital Charity’s Red & White Appeal, with generous donations of Anthony’s artwork already helping towards its goal.