Retired IT Project Manager Dave Gibb, who previously lived in Gayton and Willaston, was due to go on a cruise to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary with wife Carole
A man was urgently told by his optician to rush to his doctor after they discovered something alarming during an eye examination.
Dave Gibb was preparing to embark on a cruise to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife, Carole. He had gone for an eye test and the opticians saw something worrying enough to recommend he head straight to his doctors. Dave, 73, said: “The doctor sent me for a blood test at my local hospital, who then subsequently diagnosed advanced blood cancer. My first reaction was shock and anger as I felt I had so many things still to do in life.”
This retired IT Project Manager, from Greater Manchester, underwent an initial round of standard chemotherapy in October 2010. However, he was transferred to The Christie in December, where he was introduced to a new treatment plan. This regimen consisted of a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs working in conjunction with a targeted cancer drug named rituximab.
Dave told The Liverpool Echo: “While the treatment was successful and put me in full remission, my blood count would not pick up, and I needed regular blood transfusions over the following year. This was not a sustainable solution.