Travelling with Cancer: Barry Martin

Barry Martin was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2007. He talks about his experiences with cancer and travelling overseas, and about the importance of the support he received from his family.

Transcript

My name is Barry Martin. I do suffer with oesophagus cancer which was diagnosed on the 2nd of February 2007. We decided to travel even though I had this illness. My doctor, Dr Andrew Dean, specifically said that we should travel to go and see our family who are a son in America and two grandchildren and our daughter in law.  And he felt that it was a must that we went and saw our children, though it was a 25 hour flight, which naturally with this illness takes quite a little bit out of you.

Dr Dean, after I had finished in February, I suffered badly with two blood clots that went through me and that considerably put me well behind as far as the cancer. I had just finished my treatment on chemotherapy when this happened. It was only two days before I was actually due to come off the chemotherapy treatment.

I then, suffering badly with that, it was quite considerable to take on a 25 hour trip to New York where my children were. We decided, the doctor still said that we must go, he felt very strongly on this, so we booked our trip in February of this year and planned to go early June. This didn’t quite work. Just before we were due to leave I did have an altitude test, of which I failed. From there we had to have oxygen to fly.

We flew through Dubai with Emirates airlines who were absolutely unbelievably good to us. All the way they gave us service that I don’t think you could ever wish for better. In the first stage of that, they upgraded our tickets to business class, they kept the oxygen, checking every sort of half hour there was someone there with us, with water, checking to make sure the bottles were not emptying and everything. It was quite unbelievable the way they looked after us.

To see our family, we spent most of the time down in Connecticut just two hours outside of Manhattan and it was absolutely relaxing and to be with your family and with your grandchildren I think this does certainly give you a lift in life. And for everyone that’s sort of in my position, I feel that you’ve got to take the risk and be confident in yourself that you are definitely going to go and have a trip and enjoy life as it goes on. You cannot sit on the couch I believe and you sit back and say it’s not going to happen. You’ve got to make it happen.

We’re very fortunate to have two children, two boys, one in a top business in America, another one is a cabinet maker in Perth. Both the back up from my children was quite incredible. My son flew out twice in the early days from Manhattan. In the middle of this, one of the reasons that he did come out was our fiftieth wedding anniversary. And we had a group of friends and everything that we met and went out for lunch and had a great time, which the family put on for us.

But communication wise and I think this is where you need family to back you up. My children I don’t think ever went two days without ringing me, either from New York or from locally and he rang every day and I think you need that to keep you going and the backup of my wife is just incredible. The way she supports me and looks after me and makes sure that I’ve got my tablets and I’ve got everything going and the way I need to keep my health up at this stage.

I think 12 or 13 hours on an aeroplane when you’re not really well is a long time and I advise anyone, if they’re going over a long distance to make sure they do have a rest during that period. The cancer does sort of upset you a little bit. But you’ve got to have the determination, the fight within yourself to make sure that you’re going to turn around and beat it. Which I’ve said to myself and my doctor has told me repeatedly “you’ve got to beat it, no one else”. And I’m out to beat this disease. Somehow or other I hope to be around for quite a few years to come yet.

Travelling, you’ve got to have the confidence and you’ve got to have the people behind you to have the confidence. I certainly believe that I had the confidence I had the support of my wife on the trip and I knew I was going to see family at the other end. And that gave me the confidence and the way I actually summarise our trip is that we were going to make it because I felt I was fairly strong willed. And at no stage since the day, I probably lost a tear when I was first told, I’ve never lost one since and it’s been going on for two years now.

Anyone going on a trip, I wish you all the best and I hope what I’ve said gives you a little bit of confidence to do the same thing that we have done. And I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you.

More information

For more information, see Travelling with Cancer.