A THORNBURY dad who is being treated for cancer is urging people not to delay checking out potential symptoms.
Stephen Hales is currently undergoing immunotherapy for stage 4 cancer, which was first found in his throat but has now spread.
The 46-year-old engineering manager, who had to give up his role as an on-call firefighter at the town’s station, says anyone who has any “niggles” should get them checked out straight away.
Hundreds of people have donated to an online fundraiser to help pay for home adaptations for Stephen, who is well known as a cub scout leader, TA reservist and volunteer fundraiser with the town’s Round Table.
Stephen said he thought he just had “a bit of a sore throat” when he first experienced symptoms over Christmas 2021.
Dentist found something wrong
A dentist at the town’s Bank Cottage practice told him there was something wrong when he went for a routine check-up the following month.
Stephen said: “He did a thorough check-up on me and he advised me to go to the doctor.
“I left it too long. The back of my throat had been eaten away – something was not very right.”
Stephen was sent for scans and diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
He underwent a six-week proton beam therapy trial – a targeted form of radiotherapy – in Manchester, and has also had multiple rounds of chemotherapy, brain surgery and immunotherapy.
Last December, Stephen was signed off from work to undergo a craniotomy – surgery involving removing part of his skull – to have two lesions removed from his head.
He then caught pneumonia, and said: “It wasn’t the best Christmas – everything goes on hold”.
Stephen is currently working from home in between treatments but after five years at Thornbury fire station is no longer able to serve as a firefighter.
‘Every aspect of your life changes’
He said: “I stopped because of my cancer – I couldn’t see how I could be fit enough to be a firefighter. Every aspect of your life changes when you get cancer.”
However, Stephen remains positive and has been supported by his wife Helen, 23-year-old daughter Keelin, who works in Bristol, and son Jacob, 21, who will return to Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge later this year to complete a course in ecology and conservation, having taken a year out to assist with his dad’s care.
Stephen said: “My family are really positive – we are living with it and coping with it, carrying on as best we can and cracking on with it.
“I am not sat around crying all day. We’ve been able to cope with what’s been thrown at us and got a lot of support from friends and family.”
Stephen has also had support from St Peter’s Hospice, who are in regular contact, and the Fire Fighters Charity.
He said: “We know that there is support as and when we need it.”
Huge response to online fundraiser
Stephen’s brother-in-law Mark Jones has set up an online donation page to raise funds to convert the family bathroom to make it more accessible for Stephen, and buy him an orthopaedic chair.
The donation page has raised more than £9,900, with donations from more than 170 people.
Stephen said his current bathroom is difficult to access as his mobility “is not as it used to be”, having recently had a hip operation because the cancer weakened his bone.
He said: “My brother-in-law has done 80% of it already. He’s very good and we appreciate it a lot.
“We are future proofing things for the inevitable – I’m only going to get weaker and less able – so thinking ahead, to make it as comfortable as can be.”
Donations can be made online at the gofundme page set up by Mark.
‘We have the chance to show him support’
Writing on the Gofundme page, Mark said: “Stephen has always been someone who gives back – whether through his service as an on-call firefighter, TA reservist, or cub scout leader, or his countless hours volunteering for fundraisers.
“He has dedicated so much of his life to helping others, and now, we have an opportunity to show him the same care and generosity.
“Stephen has always given so much of himself to others. Now, we have the chance to show him how much he is appreciated and supported by the people whose lives he has touched.”