Embracing Carers Campaign – David and Anson

David and Anson have taken part in a campaign by Merck Healthcare called “embracing carers”. The campaign highlights the role that caregivers play for people going through life-changing health diagnoses such as cancer.

As part of the campaign a series of videos was filmed by Merck. Anson is co-chair of Oracle Voices and he tells us how David cared for him during his cancer treatments in 2020 and earlier in 2024. The video above is from David´s perspective.

Anson´s perspective

Anson explains “David became my carer during my first bout of cancer during lockdown in 2020, when the side-effects of radiation treatment were at their worst. Our experiences were far from unique. They included; emotional struggles, nutritional distress (especially as eating and drinking was impossible for me), altered lifestyles, changes within the dynamic of our relationship and my constantly changing support needs. These all took their toll on David, although he would be the last person to ask for help!”

“I think it’s also interesting that the fear of recurrence (of cancer) can affect the carer more than the patient. See a research paper on this here. During my first bout of cancer, this rings true somewhat. I, perhaps naively, was absolutely confident that I would finish treatment ‘cancer-free’, whilst David was characteristically more cautious.”

Filming was cathartic

Anson continues “so, for two days at the start of July 2024, a film crew took over our house, and we got to experience at first hand just why it can take 90 mins to perfect a 9 second piece of film! The team were absolutely amazing and made both David and I completely at our ease.”

Being part of this video-making process was actually very cathartic for Anson. He says “it made me think deeply again about the enormity of what David and I actually went through at the start of 2020, during lockdown. And of the debt I owe to David for what he did for me, for us, at that time.”

Rightly or wrongly, cancer inevitably leads to a focus on the person who has the disease. But more than the patient is affected – partners and immediate family bear the brunt of cancer as well. And for Anson and David, this video was a chance to move the focus, for once, from Anson, to David.

Here’s the final version of the video made ‘embracing redirection’. It’s wonderful ❤️

See also Anson´s detailed cancer story blog.

If you´ve been affected by Anson and John´s story

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See also other patient stories to hear about other people diagnosed with Head and Neck Cancers.

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