'My cancer diagnosis sparked a reality I couldn't figure out how to cope with' (2025)

Robert Fisk is battling incurable bowel cancer (Image: Humphrey Nemar/Daily Express)

When I was first diagnosed with cancer it came as a bit of a relief. Back then I thought the stats in the UK were that one in three people would get it in their lifetime so I was pleased it was me and not my sister or her husband. I had always suspected cancer would be the thing that would kill me but in my plan for life it was something for retirement, and definitely not something I'd be facing in my mid-40s. But just under two years ago I underwent some tests and a nurse explained there was a sinister looking tumour in my colon. And, to add to the heartbreaking news, it wasn't the only one. There were tumours in my liver, my stomach lining, and my bladder.

I was told I had stage four bowel cancer and, though the medical teams do their best with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, it is incurable. When she announced the news I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to cope with the fact that just as I'd started to enjoy living, I'd have to get used to the idea of dying.

Don't miss... 'I have incurable bowel cancer — being on an NHS ward is hellish' [LATEST]

The nurse told me and my mum that there was counselling available through a cancer charity. But, instead of a counsellor being able to help me process my early thoughts about my diagnosis, there was an 18-month waiting list.

This conversation was the only time in my "cancer journey" that anyone from a medical team has acknowledged that cancer rides a wrecking ball through your life and has a devastating effect on mental health.

The NHS knows it does and this is why it wants every cancer patient to have a Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA) shortly after they are diagnosed.

This would enable patients to tell their medical teams their worries about cancer and treatment. But I've only ever found one patient who has had such an assessment.

For me ensuring all cancer patients have a HNA is just one part of the emotional support medical teams should be providing.

In my fortnightly consultation with a doctor or nurse before I have chemotherapy, they ask questions about diarrhoea and rashes but they never ask about mental health.

Cancer is the biggest mental health battle most people will ever face but the medical teams are more concerned by the levels of magnesium in a patient's blood than how they are coping. This must change and it's why the Daily Express is launching its Cancer Care campaign.

We want the NHS and the Government to make sure all cancer hospitals ensure their patients get support for mental health issues both during and after their treatment.

This starts with a HNA and must continue by the medical teams asking their patients about their mental health, and referring them for support when needed.

I don't have a bucket list of places I want to visit before I die. All I want is for these essential changes to be made to help cancer patients for years to come.

And you can help us put pressure on the Government to ensure anyone diagnosed with cancer gets this support from day one by signing our petition on the Parliament website.