The Untold Podcast

A Routine Backache. An 11-Day Coma. Stage 4 Cancer. He’s 28.

• The Untold Family • Season 2 • Episode 12

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Harry Lambert is 28 years old, a dad to two young daughters, and last year he walked into A&E with back pain. He expected antibiotics. Instead, he was hours away from kidney failure, poisoned from the inside, hallucinating, and being put into an induced coma on Christmas Day.

When he woke up 11 days later — unable to walk, talk, or breathe on his own — the doctors delivered the news he hadn’t even been conscious to hear: Stage 4 lymphoma.

What follows is a story that doesn’t feel real:
 – misdiagnosis and delays that nearly cost him his life
 – kidney shutdown and hallucinations before the coma
 – full-body scans lit up “like a Dalmatian”
 – chemo that didn’t work
 – losing his vision for weeks
 – sepsis striking out of nowhere
 – preparing silent goodbyes to his children
 – a compassionate-access drug worth £140,000 a cycle
 – relapsing within a week of stopping
 – a last-chance treatment designed for lung disease
 – brain radiotherapy
 – and finally, against every odds, full remission

But this episode isn’t just survival.
 It’s about what a second chance does to a man who thought he’d never see his children grow up.

Harry talks plainly about life after the coma, how it feels to re-enter the world after months inside hospitals, and the way everything — work, money, priorities — collapses into clarity when you realise time is the only real currency.

Today, he’s using that second chance for something bigger: raising money and delivering gifts for children fighting cancer, starting with a little girl named Betty who’s facing her seventh round of chemo. Harry is building a charity, one act of light at a time, because he refuses to waste the life he fought so hard to keep.

This is the episode you don’t skip.
 This is the episode you send to someone who needs perspective, strength, or proof that even in the darkest moments, people come back.

Donate to Harry’s Christmas Toy Drive:
https://gofund.me/8a9000e8d

Send us a text

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to the Untold Podcast. Today's episode is going to be unlike any other episode we've actually done before. First of all, though, I'm Chris. And I'm Ash. And we have with us Harry Lambeau. Good to be here. Good to be here. I should let you say that one.

SPEAKER_00:

That's fine, no, that's fine.

SPEAKER_02:

Good to be here. Thank you for having me on. It's not Harry Lambeau, it's Harry Lambert, but I just thought I'd use that one. Right. Harry's got a massive story to tell us. Harry's actually a listener, but also a bit of a friend, we could say, of mine. Yeah, definitely. Used to work together in the building game, didn't we? Yeah. Harry reached out to us and wanted to tell his story, so we thought it would be a great idea to let him come in and tell his story because it is probably going to be quite emotional. Probably going to be very inspiring, to be fair, come towards the end of it as well. So what have you come in to tell us about Harry?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, very, very real, I think. Just uh Yeah, what I've been through and what I'm now doing. The main reason I wanted to come here is yes, I've been through a lot, but what what I'm gonna what I'm doing now, sorry. Um so yeah, November last year, um fell ill, got a bit of back pain, thought it was just an infection like you do, went to AE, um, couldn't get a doctor's appointment as as usual, like it is. Um went in and they said, Yeah, you got a kidney infection, we will give you antibiotics, just go home, take them usual sort of routine. Then went to the doctors because it wasn't clearing, tried to get an appointment with them, um, and they were like, nah, you can't get an appointment today, it's fully booked, so I was like, fine. Mum was like, you need to go and get this checked out because this isn't like you. Like, I was saying to her, like, my back's getting worse now, like, I'm nothing soothing this, I've got to sort it out.

SPEAKER_01:

What did it feel like? What was the backpack?

SPEAKER_00:

It's like just more like kidneys and that, the right of the base sort of thing. Um went from that to the private, I've got to remember it, my mind goes funny about it, I will say. Um, went to a private consultation, um, and he was like, I can't find anything, can't feel any like lumps or nothing. So get a CT done though, because obviously if this isn't like you, you're usually pretty fit and well. So we went and done that, went he went and had the CT done. Um sorry, scratched that, sorry. Went and had the private consultation done. He recommended that I had the CT. So I said, look, I can't really afford that right now. Like, can you just recommend it to my GP for him to do it like that? And this is the worst bit about the whole thing, because this could have caught it so much sooner. They, the GP, like NHS GP, refused to do it on the basis that if I can afford a private consultation, I should be able to afford a private CT. Apparently, I was jumping the queue in some way, even though I'm taking services away from them to free up someone else, but work that one out. So yeah, went and then eventually paid£900 for a private CT scan. Um that showed that I had lymph nodes raised in my neck and in other areas. Um at that point I was getting even worse, couldn't walk, was having to like lay in the bar for hours on end um to stop me, like stop the pain, it would soothe it slightly. And it all came to a head one day. I we had to find the ambulance, couldn't walk, couldn't move. Had a biopsy done in hospital. Um they took that away. We how long did it take to get the results?

unknown:

We didn't get the results.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think I fell ill, even worse ill before that, but then got the result at some point, but I then was admitted because at that point my kidneys were shutting down um and started to poison me, so I was hallucinating, seeing things. Um, like the things that are in my brain from that are just like you wouldn't want to imagine. Um, they then worked out okay, this is gonna be cancerous, um, stage three at that point wasn't too bad. Okay, we can treat this, it's you know, blood cancer, lymphoma, it's okay. Like we're all on a alright, calm down, it's cancer, but we'll deal with it, sort of thing. Went from there, I ended up getting an infection um whilst on the ward, then which then spread to pneumonia. That then meant that the cancer could then ravage my body from brain to chest, legs, everything. Ended up in 11-day coma. I was induced into the coma on Christmas Day. Um they then put me on dialysis to keep my I think it's your liver or whatever, your kidneys going. Yeah. Um, from there, spent 11 days obviously in it. And I want to say that the drugs that they put you on is called pepidin. That is something ungodly. Like, I cannot explain how weird that is. Like, so that from what the only way I can explain it when you're in a coma is that you're dreaming the whole time. So I saw things like um, well, I went back to the steam ages and I was like a logger in the steam. But I mean when I say realistic, I'm in there and I'm like, people are saying, come on, Johnny, and come and do so realistic. I went, I was up in the Empire State, but I could like I knew the names of every single I had the firefighters with me for some reason, like just absolutely beyond this world. I went through the motions of how we were made by God and things like that. It were honestly like really mind-bending things. Obviously, I woke, luckily, I woke up from the coma. I was a new man, like, couldn't walk, talk, breathe on my own, and went for a real bad recovery, like it was really difficult. Then they said that because it was on my brain, they could no longer treat it, which was like, oh crap, well, now what are we gonna do? Like, luckily the Marsden took me on. Um, it wasn't certain that they were gonna be able to, but they had a meeting that said, Yeah, we think we might be able to deal with it. Went to Sutton, um, Royal Marsden. I arrived there at nine o'clock at night. When I arrived, they had realised that the hospital had missed that my left-hand lung was full of fluid, completely full. So they had to drain it because I couldn't breathe. So they sent me to Chelsea, Marsden, after there. Um, I then had to have a chest drain put in, which is the most excruciating thing I've ever felt. They do it while you're awake, they put a needle through your back, straight into your lung, and drop a tube straight down and just create a vacuum and suck all the fluid out. Absolutely painful. That is that's the worst thing about it all. Um from there, from Chelsea, I then uh stayed there for about two weeks, started some more chemo, um, went from Chelsea back to Sutton, where I then continued on with my chemo. Chemo wasn't working. Um, they were doing PEC scans, CT scans, all sorts of scans, and it was just still there. It was shrinking at times, like they were doing bits on Bob's, um, but no real evidence. They came in, so this is the worst bit. I'll probably tear up for this, but the worst day was my mum came up and all was fine, we were just chilling out, it's gonna be alright, reassuring one another. Um, and the doctors walked in, and I could just see from their face, like, fuck, this is not good. Come in with the computer as they do, um, and they showed me my brain, body, and legs, and it was just lit up. It was like a Dalmatian, black, white, and the black spots is obviously cancer, completely lit up through. At that point, I'd probably had about 10 rounds of chemo at that point, and still nothing was responding. So the next thing was to apply for this compassionate drug. Now, you don't always get it. It's a hundred and forty thousand dollars to buy a cycle of the drug. So obviously, I know who's got that laying about. Um, so yeah, we applied for it. Luckily, we got it. Started off with the drug, things were alright, and it seemed pretty good and was responding. So we was like, okay, you can go home for a bit, you know, we'll carry on with weekly visits and bloods and that. So the plan was to then stop the drug and then have a transplant. So you have to have like a week's washout period because it's so toxic in your body, like all of this chemo and dru and chemo drugs and that. So we stopped the drug within a week, cancer was back, lumps in my neck, like everywhere, just taken hold completely. So, well, now what do we do? Like, I can't have a transplant, I can't take the drug. So, luckily, the amazing doctors um decided that there was another drug. This is completely the first, I think this is the first time it's ever been done. Um, it was a stronger one, but it's meant for lung disease. They've had good good response rates with it, with lung disease. Um, and they said, Look, do you want it? I was like, Yeah, anything obviously at this point is worth a try. Luckily, um, with that, the new drug and radiotherapy alongside on my brain, I can now say I'm in full remission from it.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh man, that's incredible.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, just listening to that, it's just it's hard to comprehend, like going through it, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

Let alone so many questions.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so many times I wanted to butt in there, but I didn't want to butt in because I just wanted to get it all through there.

SPEAKER_00:

So it in total it was 20 20 rounds of chemo, um 15 rounds of radiotherapy, radiotherapy is horrible. Um, nine rounds of spinal chemo, so because it was on my brain, they put a needle through to the fluid in your spinal cord. Believe me, that is horrible. I'm not trying to make it sound, but it is they hit nerves as they do it, and those nerves are what controlling your legs, so you'll get a and I mean like your legs on fire as they're doing it. Uh, nine rounds of intrafecal spinal chemo, and then obviously the two clinical trials is what it took.

SPEAKER_02:

And it's I think it's important to mention as well, you like you've got a family as well, haven't you? You got kids.

SPEAKER_00:

This is it, and like so this is the the thing that hurts me the most, and I that I just get so upset about was the fact that I was gonna hurt other people, my loved ones, but I had no control over this, and I just I just couldn't bear that, and it just shot me to pieces. Like, what do you do? Like, how do I tell that to my six and four-year-old daughter? Like, how how is my missus gonna explain that?

SPEAKER_01:

It's got a man, I can't even I'm trying to put myself in your position.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I was actually just sitting there watching you to be fair. I could see your brain churning. I could see the coach grinding, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Man, that must have been like mentally, mentally, how are you now? Fucked. Really? Fucked.

SPEAKER_00:

I I'm very I'm a very luckily I'm a very strong mentally person, I can I can deal with a lot. Um I do I do know that I need to talk to someone about it and do it like professional, I'm gonna do it, but I just keep myself busy, it's locked away, and I'll deal with that when I'm ready to deal with it. If I'm honest, you've started dealing with it today coming on here, mate. 100%, 100%, 100%. I mean, before I couldn't talk about it without breaking down, like I would be an absolute mess. And now, you know, obviously there's a bit of growth there already, so do you mind if we pick the bones out of that a little bit? You crack on, you crack on.

SPEAKER_02:

Kind of the way I when you started talking, I I kind of I want to know, this is gonna be hard as well, like how did you feel when you obviously all the tests and everything, oh backache, this, that, and doctors, but when that initial conversation went across the line and they said that you they thought you had cancer, like what what were your first thoughts?

SPEAKER_00:

But I didn't really get any because I was so ill. I was like, so I was so the drug when I didn't get the news that I had cancer, so this is the most amaz weird thing about it. When my kidneys started to poison me, I didn't really at that point know I had cancer confirmed. It was suspected, but I hadn't been told officially. I then went into the coma, woke up from the coma, and I just thought I was ill. So everyone was like, Oh, well done, you're back, you've come round, sort of thing. Okay, you're great. And I was like, Yeah, I've beaten this. And they're like, No, this is only the start. You've got stage four cancer, mate. I'm like, fuck. Like a double-edged sword, come out feeling alright. Like, so I've woken up, I can't talk. I'm having to write on a piece of paper and like letters to talk to my missus because I can't get the words out because I've got a feeding tube in, and you're now telling me I've got stage four cancer. Like, give me a fucking break. Like, do you know what I mean? It's yeah, everyone, the minute you hear the word cancer, everyone goes, you know, oh it's always worst case scenario, anyway.

SPEAKER_02:

Isn't it? Exactly. But when you wake up and being told you've got stage four, that's there is no worse stage than that, really, is there? No, no.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, it's there there is a bit of misconception about it. I mean, stage four is just the aggressiveness of it. I mean, a lot of it, we are blessed to live today because a lot of it can be treated. There is some mate. This is what I tell people as well. Like, we've got a friend, sadly, her mum's got cancer at the minute. I said to her, I was like, what are they starting with? And then and it's a very, very low dose of chemo. So I was like, all right, don't panic. Like, look, look, listen to what we've just been through. There is so many options out there for her to have. So things there is positivity in there somewhere. I don't know where, but yeah. So how's it changed?

SPEAKER_01:

Sorry, that's gonna look up. Are we gonna talk about it? I'm just trying to. How is it you said before we started went live, yeah, you said in a strange way, you're grateful for it.

SPEAKER_00:

I am, I am, I am grateful for it because I live such a selfish, money-oriented work life, not family-based. Although we did things I should have been doing more, I should have put more effort in. And now it has opened my eyes to the fact that your bosses don't care about you. No one else cares. You've got to look after yourself, you've got to make memories, you've got to do what life. If someone asked me what life, what were the meaning what life was, I would say family, memories, love, and that's it. Not money, not work. Although you've got to work and you've got to earn money, the main thing that you should be chasing is just friendship, family, love, and that's it. You know, that that's how I see life now. And although I sit I I don't wish bad on people, I wish everyone had been through what I've been through because they would see the world in a completely different way every day without me even having to mentally remind myself I'm aware of the fact that I'm still on this planet and I'm lucky to be here, and it's just amazing. We all just take things for granted on the daily basis, don't we?

SPEAKER_02:

We do.

SPEAKER_01:

I think we don't like we're all living, we're all living at a thousand miles an hour, and we're all we're all chasing that, we're all chasing the next car payment, the next mortgage payment, the next everything. And you you sit but when you sit back, when you have something like this happen in your life, or any big thing that happens in your life, it allows you to take the time to actually look and realise what why what what are we chasing? It's like Sam said last week, he was always chasing the money, and he felt that success was money.

SPEAKER_00:

But then he said, I'm rich in other ways. You are exactly, exactly. I mean, if this is what I tell people on my lies when I when I'm on TikTok, is that tomorrow when you wake up, are your arms moving, is your heart pumping your blood, can you talk? Can you breathe? You're a lot richer than a lot of people already. So just be grateful of that before you go out in the world and you're miserable and and you get because the w the outside world is miserable today, isn't it? I mean it's it's easy to get. I mean, I find myself at times f slipping into it, and I'm like, no, don't don't let it get to you, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

We can only control what we can control.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, this is it, can't we? Exactly. And you would have learnt that, like you said. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01:

You were completely out of control of your situation.

SPEAKER_00:

You had no control. No, no, it it was money, money, mate. I'd work six, sometimes seven days a week, no time for the family, no, you know, and now it's no, slow it down, chill out, enjoy it. I mean, I even to the point now where I would just go around and I would just oh it's such a beautiful day. Like, look at them trees, like it sounds silly, but I just see it in a completely different light now. Um, yeah, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

You're living kind of from the conversation, I feel like you're now living in the present. You're now living and appreciating.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, 100%. It's yeah, I'm grateful of it, and it's gonna sound mad to say that, but I am, I am, because I think I look without being too spiritual, I think someone is up there telling me, you know, this is what you need to be doing, you know, you need to sort your life out and be doing the right thing. Um and now obviously we're on to better and beautiful things, you know, trying to make the world a bit of a brighter place for other people.

SPEAKER_02:

Do you it's it's hard to talk about this because like you you don't really want to think about yourself going through this? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, it's quite a difficult subject to talk about when you haven't gone through it because A, you don't want to say something that actually has no relevance, even though it might be in your head. But for me, I know you've got quite a few friends. Like have your friends been really supportive or have they stepped up to you?

SPEAKER_00:

I will give now a massive shout out, if you don't mind, to Alex, Todd, Leanne, um, because I've got some great and it and it does show you your true friends um who's there for you. I've got those friends, they were there by my side, they came to the hospitals, they visited me, and probably saw me at some really bad stages, but they were there and supported and and gave me what I needed, you know. Um and I will say I wouldn't be here without my missus or my family because my missus bless her, at times in the hospitals we didn't receive the care, we had to fight for the care. Um if so certain individuals in the hospital, let's say they were agency workers, so they had no care about what they were doing, they were just placed there that day and wouldn't bother.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I at times I would have my feed it food down my back and they wouldn't be bothered. The feeding tube would just split and it would spray everywhere, and they just that's not my job and just leave me in it. But luckily, my missus stayed with me 24-7. Um, my mum, bless her, like I've got such a great family. My mum took care of my kids for almost a year. Um, while my partner stayed with me to care for me, yeah, it was amazing. I'm very I'm very, very lucky to have the family and friends I've got.

SPEAKER_02:

I asked that because obviously, when when you're well and healthy and life's going well, you've got always got lots of friends, haven't you? 100%. And everyone says, Oh, I'd do anything for you, I'd always be there in your hour of need.

SPEAKER_00:

Like, did you find that a lot of people that you expected to be there, weren't there? No, not not interested, not interested. But it shows it shows true colours, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02:

And again, it brings a positive out of a negative, I suppose, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly, exactly that. And I like I'll forever be grateful to the people that supported me and helped me. I mean, I'm very blessed with that. But yeah, it's a very eye-opening to who actually cares and who doesn't. But some people are very selfish, aren't they? But as well as that's the outside world, isn't it? They're like I was, they're all wrapped up in their own thing and too busy to to even care or notice.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

What's your what's your message that you're spreading at the moment? What like I've watched your lives, I've seen what you're doing. So there'll be a lot of people listening that haven't. So what is your message?

SPEAKER_00:

What is the So if I could put uh if I could put a message out to everyone who's listening, just please recognise how lucky you are and how great just please be grateful for what you have because at any minute in time, I hope you don't, but at any minute of time life can change and you can be in a dire, dire position. So just every day make the most of it. What what my met what my main goal is now is to help people with cancer or leukemia, it could be any sort of issue. Um but just try and make their days a bit easier, just try and support them in any way I can. We've got a young girl called Betty, um, she's from Southampton, she has been through the ringer, she's only about four or five. She's had surgery after surgery, she's on her seventh round of chemo. Um, yeah, so we basically just try and raise money when Betty's well enough and she's because at the minute she's immune compromised, so a cold could kill her basically. We're gonna take her to Smith's Toys, let her run in and just buy all the toys that she wants and just have a great time, as well as we're doing presents for children with cancer at Christmas. We've raised£2,260 so far this year, first year, um, and we're donating all the toys to the teen and baby unit of the Royal Marsden. Nice, so yeah, we will get it registered, and I think this is gonna be like my life. I think I was set on this path to now this is what you need to do, son, go and do that, and that's what I'm gonna do. I think we're gonna get it registered. I mean, I've got ideas in my head of like festivals and things and accessible things for children and that, but yeah, I mean, Christmas is such a hard time as well. I think a lot of people won't know that when you have a sick child, one one parent has got to stop work, so you're already down on one salary, and then you've got to do Christmas as well. So just this will help massively. I mean, I don't care if they if they don't even know it's for me, as long as it puts a smile on a child's face who's going for a tough time and helps the families out. That's all that that's all that matters at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's a lovely thing to do, mate.

SPEAKER_01:

It is a lovely thing to do. It's um I've got a friend going back who we raise money for, um, and they do Christmas dinners at the Royal Alexander. Oh, amazing. And that because they went through it, they went through this, and unfortunately they lost it. They lost they lost their child. Um and they was in the Royal Alex Children's Hospital at Christmas. Oh now they have a team of volunteers and they go in and they cook Christmas for the parents that are in there. Like we I've been in that hospital more than I more than I wish I had with my daughters and things. And it is like I can't imagine. I can't imagine I was part of a I was part of a charity forward-facing. Unfortunately, my life got in the way, I couldn't no longer commit to it. And what the the founder Candice found out is especially when families go through things, the it's usually the mother who would leave work and be with the child doing the hospital appointments. And what she realized, so she put another arm on the charity for the dads, because the dads will go to work regardless. It's they've still got it all going on, but they've got to go to work, they've got to pay the bills, they've got to carry on like life's normal. Um and I think there is not enough help for people. No, no, definitely not. Like you've come been through what you've been through. I would expect that the NHS that we pay into would make sure that mentally, after you've gone through that, it's a great point.

SPEAKER_00:

I I mean, I have been asked, um I'll be completely honest with you. I'd been so it was probably about a year that I was in hospital, so I just wanted to get away from it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Just like leave me alone now. Like, I'm done with you. I've I've spent enough time around you, like thank you for what you've done for me, but get me the hell out of here, sort of thing. Yeah. But yeah, there definitely needs to be some support. And like you said, with the dads, like, it's still can you imagine that? It's still working, and then knowing your kid your kids going through that, like it's mental, absolutely mental. But any little thing that we can do helps massively, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02:

How are you um how are you raising your money at the moment?

SPEAKER_00:

So we do GoFundMe at the minute. If you do want to donate, please do. If you go on to GoFundMe and put in presents for children with cancer at Christmas, it'll come up and there'll be a little present icon that you can c go on to. That's us. It'll explain everything about what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_01:

We'll put the link in the we'll put the link in the um description on the episode anyway.

SPEAKER_02:

When it goes live, yeah, so you can spare any money, guys, if you're listening, please.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Donate. And we'll donate, won't we?

SPEAKER_02:

We certainly will, mate. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Chris is gonna say.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, yeah, it's all there to see. If you go on my TikTok, you can see what we're buying with it. I I do updates and that, and I'm not just taking it and running away.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we we we've obviously I know who you are, and Nash has watched you all and stuff. We've done a bit of research anyway, we know it's all legitimate, so otherwise we wouldn't have it on here and talk about it. So um but honestly, mate, I've it's it's such a horrible but at the same time amazing story because most people would just go down in the dundrums and they'd just sit in the negative corner and they'll come out of the other side of it, but they just hold on to that. Whereas I think what's amazing about you is you're not holding on to it, you're actually trying to h help use your situation to help other people, which is amazing.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you know what I think it is? And I I haven't said this yet, but I think it's my way of attacking cancer back. Yeah. I think it's my way of saying, fuck you, I'm coming for you. And you know, I'll try and bring some light into this dark world and make make something good out of something that's terrible, you know. And it gives just gives me it makes me a bit more easy about it. Do you know what I mean? I could sit, like you said, I could sit down and mope about what's the point? I'm not gonna get nowhere doing that, am I? I'm not gonna make anyone better.

SPEAKER_01:

And I think what what you're doing makes yourself better.

SPEAKER_00:

100%. I think what you're doing is mentally when when you're doing good when you're doing nice things, you feel good about it, don't you?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, there is no better feeling than to be told by somebody that what you're doing is amazing or see a face with a smile on it, and then you've caused that as it, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly that.

SPEAKER_01:

Like for anybody that didn't know your story, jumping on your lives, they wouldn't know that this time last year you were where you was.

SPEAKER_00:

No, that's why it's banned so bad because I'm always having to explain it. People love hearing about it, but yeah, it's to be and I mean it's amazing. I mean, it's probably only a couple of months ago that I was able to walk properly. So it's like the recovery. I'm very blessed. Touch wood, I've been very blessed that it's gone so well because it I could have been still in a wheelchair or something.

SPEAKER_01:

And you also said earlier that you lost your vision.

SPEAKER_00:

I lost yeah, so for about three weeks I lost my vision. Um and they didn't know if it because the cancer was growing on my brain, so it was growing on my optic nerve, so it was pushing on it and which lost my vision. They didn't know if it was gonna come back, they were just trying all different things. Luckily, we tried steroids and it done the job.

SPEAKER_01:

How did that feel?

SPEAKER_00:

How did that feel how sickening, absolutely sickening? Not only did cancer take almost my life, it's now taking my eyesight. What am I gonna do now? I can't drive, can't fun. Well, you know, luckily I still had eyesight with just just about in one eye. Um so I would have still been able to function in some way, but yeah, really sickening, mate.

SPEAKER_02:

Crazy what crazy what things do to your body, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, like just but then not only that, I mean like so we come out of hospital and like just as life was getting back to normal, and I thought, oh yeah, I'm seeing the kids, I'm having a nice time, we're having barbecues and things going, bang, sepsis comes back into the room. And I just literally, I don't know what caused it. Um I don't know if it was cancer or something that caused it, but my whole lower stomach just turned to stone and was just rock solid. Something was growing in there. Um, and it was just luckily that I they doctors said to me it was lucky that I came in in the hour that I did. If I left it any longer, that was it. The sepsis would have taken over my body. So how many times am I gonna get attacked here? Like, give us a break, you know, and touch wood. I'm getting that break now.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So what's what's next then? So you're in remission.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm in remission. In January, I've I've got to have a stem cell transplant where they will give me a load of chemo to attack my immune system, completely erase my immune system. Luckily, I've got a donor for stem cells in Germany. Hopefully, I don't start speaking German. Um that will go into me, and then hopefully, as long as my body doesn't fight it, I will then have a new, brand new immune system and start start over again. That immune system should then be strong enough to get rid of the cancer if it returns. So yeah, it's mad what they can do, innit? That's not that's not the worst of it. That's not the best of it, sorry. So they can do something else called CAR T therapy. So they can take a stem cell out of your body, send it off to Germany, and they can train that stem cell how to attack cancer. They put that stem cell back into the person's body, and that stem cell will go off and teach all the other stem cells how to attack cancer and will kill it off.

unknown:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely mental. How do they do it? I don't know. Honestly, like I I would think, you know, all I knew was chemo, radio, and things like that. And when you hear about these things that they can do, it's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02:

I have to be honest, right? So cancer research charities and all those sort of charities, a lot of people think I'm not going to pay to those charities because they're never going to find a cure. They don't do much with their money, it goes to the directors. But that has proven a point there.

SPEAKER_00:

100%.

SPEAKER_02:

They definitely is going to where it needs to go.

SPEAKER_00:

The Royal Marsden are very good because they have they're very blessed in their support, and obviously with the royals that they've got behind them. But they they are doing the research, they've got the labs, they've got three or four different research labs that are cracking away all day looking for new sort of things for them. It is happening. But definitely a Royal Marsden get behind those guys because they're amazing. They are so luckily, I will give a shout out to Dima if you're listening. Dima, thank you for keeping me alive. Um, but they are the top in the world, these people. They are amazing. Yeah, the Marsden's incredible. It is, it is incredible. But even like not just the the consultants, even the people there are amazing. The like the cleaners, the people who do the laundry, they're so pleasant to deal with and so kind, and it's just because the way it's run, they get the attention that they need, they get the care that they need, and they're not all agency, shipped about, stressed out people, and we got such good care there. It was so good. Um, it was like a hotel compared to your standard sort of hospital, so much better.

SPEAKER_02:

I've got one more one question that I want to ask. Because you're helping kids with cancer, yeah, and you've got kids. Yeah, the question I've got is how did you tell your kids? Or how did you get away with not?

SPEAKER_00:

No, no, so we've told them and bless their hearts. Uh, they've been amazing about it. So we kind of uh all the presents started arriving, and they were like, What's this? What's going on here? Sort of thing. And we just said, you know, these like Daddy was, Daddy was ill in hospital over Christmas. So what we're trying to do is just to give some presents to some children. And bless her heart, Amelia, who's sick, she just turned around and said, That's amazing, and was well up for it. And you know, we killed she understands, bless her. They're allowed to look at them, but they're not allowed to touch them. Because if they obviously bacteria and things like that, but they sit there and sit there staring, can I have that for Christmas? Can I have that for Christmas? sort of thing. But yeah, they're great about it, they they love it. Um, and Amelia wants to meet Betty, bless her, when we go and do a little shopping spree. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

How did they deal with you actually going through it all though? Because obviously, as a family, they struggled.

SPEAKER_00:

They struggled. Um because obviously they went to live with my mum, so that was a big throwing up in the air, going to school with nanny, routine changes, bits and bobs. They dealt with it pretty well, I'll give them that. Um, obviously, it was where's daddy, this and because of a lot a lot of the time I was immune compromised, so they couldn't see me in hospital. Um there was the odd visit where I'd have to wear masks and gloves, and they would have to as well, bless them. But yeah, they've done, I think they've done very well, bless them. And we we now they're now back living with us, obviously, so we've got back into a routine and it's all going pretty well with them.

SPEAKER_02:

It's amazing how resilient kids are, as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really, really amazing. You look at children with cancer, like you watch TikToks and it's watch this video for 30 seconds to help push the video out, and we can pay for this and that. And and I watch the videos and I think to myself, like, you shouldn't be going through this, nobody should go through it, but kids especially, and they seem to just get on with it. It doesn't seem to affect them, does it? Like, I know it does, but they're just always so resilient, and I think it's I think it's fucking amazing to be fair, like how they deal with it.

SPEAKER_00:

But Betty is honestly what she's been through, and she's still bouncing about playing and smiling and that. It's incredible, utterly incredible.

SPEAKER_01:

But yeah, we've got to cherish our kids, and like you say, we've got to be grateful for the things we've got in our life because you don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00:

No, no, you don't. You don't literally can life can turn up upon its end in a matter of minutes, you know. It's anything can happen, you go get it by a bus, like, but we just lose sight of it. And I I luckily I will never ever do that again because of what I've been through. Um it's just amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

It's changed your outlook on life. 100%. Where do you think you'd be now with it?

SPEAKER_00:

Stressed out, sitting in a digger, w chasing money, sitting in a digger, um yeah, wet, cold, ill.

SPEAKER_01:

It's quite an interesting point you made earlier. You came out of hospital and then life went back to normal-ish. Or that it had it's you said about going to work. You said about going to work and trying to go to the gym and stuff. Talk about that.

SPEAKER_00:

So you live in this medical bubble that it's just and this is one thing I want to touch on as well, just quickly, is that cancer is so hard. What people want to understand is that you've got the illness, you're sick, everyone else around you comes and goes, leaves the room, you are stuck there 24-7 to deal with it. There's no escape, there's no runaway, and it is demoralising. But back to your point where you're ill and you're told you're gonna die, and then a month later the cure has arrived back to normal world, back out into the I'd be open like, whoa, hang on a minute here, slow down. A month 30 days ago, I was packing my bags and getting ready to go up the stairs, sort of thing, you know, and now I'm out in Morrison's, like and I uh we went and I and I I overdid it, I overstepped it. So we went and took uh my eldest to London for the day, and I didn't realise how bad it was until it happened. But we went to the aquarium and we went, as the aquarium goes round, you go down into a basement, and we thought, ah yeah, this is alright, it's alright. And obviously, what I've been through, I've then become like a bit of a clean freak, bacteria, germs, just like people, space sort of thing. We went down there and there was people coughing, and I and I just had an immediate breakdown. I burst out into tears, I was panicking, I couldn't breathe properly. I was like, I've got to leave this room right now. Just marched up the stairs, got out, got out into the fresh air and breathed. But yeah, the after effect of that coming into the real world after it, because you're so enclosed, and it does affect you massively, massively. Make sure you get that unpacked, man. Make sure you speak to the stuff. I will, I will, 100%. I will, I will do it. It's just a thing with me at the minute is that I'm not over the finish line yet. I've still got all the chemo to do yet. Once I've rang that bell and I'm done, then I'll be like, right, now it's time to deal with it. Now it's time to talk and understand everything because it is baffling that you get told you're gonna be saying goodbye to your kids, and but it's not even that, like most people die and it's goodbye, you or you don't get to say goodbye. I was prepared to have a meeting with my children, they not know this, but I was saying my last goodbyes to them, and they not even knowing that it was, and I had to do that. Do you know what I mean? And then I was prepared, my missus didn't know this, but I had accepted it, it was coming.

SPEAKER_02:

Like, it was on the way. That's the that's the what like even just hearing you say it makes me want to cry.

SPEAKER_01:

Um he nearly got me, you ask.

SPEAKER_02:

He's done me, he has done me. Um that's the one thing that you just never want, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00:

Like, just yeah, to try and it would upset me, and I had to put it, I had to lock it away, and I had to put it to the one side. I thought I knew the day was coming, but it was just like yeah, what am I gonna say? How do I explain this to them?

SPEAKER_01:

Were you mentally strong before this happened, do you think?

SPEAKER_00:

Mentally, I've always been mentally strong. Yeah, mentally I've done well and touch wood. Oh, I can deal with things and I you know I can get through things pretty well. Do you know what as well? I was very ignorant of mental health. Very ignorant. Get up, pick yourself up, sort yourself out. What's the matter with you? Sort of thing. Now I'm like, actually, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

It's real. I was very ignorant until it happened to me. Very ignorant until it happened to me, till something happened in my life and I was like, actually, do you know what? I'm not alright. Yeah, I need to need to.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm not alright. Yeah, exactly. I think it takes that for you to then be able to realise, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

I think it does, but I mean what what you've been through just sounds fucking horrifying.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I mean, it's nice to sit here actually, to be fair, and have a conversation with you because I can still see the Harry that I knew before it happened.

SPEAKER_00:

So just the bald version.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah. I didn't want to say that.

SPEAKER_00:

Honestly, I get caught all sorts. So I find it funny, I take I take a joke out of it, but the people on TikTok, some people in this world are vile. Oh no, it's horrible, no. And they I had a bloke come in and say, You got chemo fade. Like, I found it funny. Like, it was quite a good joke, but like, mate, come on, like yeah, some people like they wouldn't take that quite as well, would they?

SPEAKER_02:

No, exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

But you think some people are just keyboard warriors, and they but yeah, it's been a mad journey, but I'm I am grateful of it. And my my family is now benefiting from it because I'm such a more family, like Christmas time coming up, we would normally go and see Santa Lassia. But I'm like, no, we've got the money, we're going to RHS, we're going to that Christmas market, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do that, we're doing everything we can every single day, and we're gonna do all the memories and make all the memories that we can. And that's the way I'm gonna live now. If we can do it, we're doing it.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it's really important. Um, I think it's obviously, as you you may know, I lost my dad suddenly a couple of weeks ago, and it's like all those things that I should have done with him, all those things we should have done. Once they're gone, you can't do it anymore. This is it. And you're like, oh, shall I stay in the office till seven tonight or shall I take my daughter swimming? Well, from now on, I'm gonna take her swimming. Yeah, good. I'm gonna go and pick her up from school, I'm gonna drop him at school, I'm gonna do everything I possibly can to be able to make memories with her. Yeah, amazing. Good on you, man. Good on you. And it's taken that in my life for me to realise that, and I think that's sad. Yeah, but at least you have.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. At least you have, because a lot of people don't. They'll get to the end and it's like, oh, regret, regret, regret. But at least you have.

SPEAKER_01:

That's the most I've got a million quid in the bank and I'm dead.

SPEAKER_02:

I think I think it's important to mention for the listeners quickly while we're talking about that, though, not not everybody can do that.

unknown:

No.

SPEAKER_02:

So don't be listening thinking I'm a shit parent because I have to work seven days a week because I've got a mortgage to pay for, blah, blah, blah. Some people aren't in a position where they can physically stop doing things to do everything with their kids. It doesn't make you a bad parent or anything doing that, it's just it's easier for some other people. Like, we're very fortunate we're in a position where we can do that. Yeah. Um I'll just fight that next. I know there'd probably be some listening thinking I'm a bad parent or whatever. No, no, exactly. No, it's a fair point, definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

No, but I think it's it's it's having that reflection time to be like, oh, do I need to do that extra shift? What's gonna do you know what I mean? Or is that more important? What's I think it's finding what's what's more important to you. There'll be some people out there, they're career-driven, they've got no kids, they're happy working 24 hours.

SPEAKER_00:

I think it's all based on your personality, but I like to say you get wrapped up, just don't get too wrapped up in it. Yeah, like it's not what life's about. We've all been trained, and I think it starts from school, doesn't it? We've all been trained. Get up in the week, you work all week, and like you've got to, obviously, but don't be so regimented with your life. Go and have some fun, just go and do it, start that business or or go and do that fun thing you want to do. Go and jump out of a plane, do something, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

You know, make the most of it. That's what you mate, that is. What?

SPEAKER_01:

Jumping out of a plane.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you know what I watched last night?

SPEAKER_02:

You said we're gonna do a skydive, you've you've backed out of that one.

SPEAKER_00:

Do it, do it, get it booked in and do it. Don't don't don't fucking.

SPEAKER_02:

I've already done, mate. He's he's he's scared, that's all.

SPEAKER_00:

We are I'm gonna do one for charity soon. Yeah. Once I've got my stem cell done. Next year is gonna be my year. I'm coming back, and we're gonna have it next year.

SPEAKER_01:

How can people help you on your mission?

SPEAKER_00:

Share, uh, find me on TikTok or what's your TikTok handle? My TikTok handle is Haslambo, H A Z L A M B E O. Um, you can find me on TikTok, Facebook, share any post that you find, make a video, do whatever you want to do, donate if you can. I understand times are hard at the minute, and not everyone can, but anything like that helps massively.

SPEAKER_01:

I love that. And it helps you on your mission. Exactly, exactly that. Not just helping you, they're helping the people you're trying to do.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, this is it. I mean, so it's like this is what I say to people. So much of TikTok is greed, isn't it? It's people sitting on there like give, give, give, give, give. I don't want none of that. 100% of what I get from it, I give away. Like, so we've run now raised£428 for Betty to take her to Smith's toys. So everything we get, so just support, it's free, you know, just help us out. And it and it is just the start, this is just the beginning. I'm gonna grow something and I will do it that's gonna be massive, and I'm not gonna stop.

SPEAKER_02:

Consider passion in you, mate, and believing you, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I do, man. When you message, you said I'd love to come on the podcast. And then I showed him to Chris, and Chris was like, I used to work with him. Don't give him odd. We looked at a story, and he might tell some stories about me, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

We're having some fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So, what are you doing now, Harry? What's your what's daily life look like for you now?

SPEAKER_00:

So it's basically rehabilitation. Um, I've gone from not being able to walk to now being able to do treadmill. I'm basically just trying to keep my fitness up as best I can, ready for this stem cell transplant. I need to be as fit as I can, really. Um we'll smash it out of the park, it'd be absolutely fine given that what I've been through already in such a state. We can do this, it'll be fine. But swimming, I mean, some like where I've had a chest straining and I've had pneumonia, my lungs are ruined. I'm now trying to get them back to scratch, swimming and what have you, exercising. Yeah, just keep myself fit and healthy, really. Focus on my mental health and and life, enjoy life. Yeah, yeah. That's it.

SPEAKER_02:

Fair play, too, man. Yeah. Right, I think we'll wrap it up there, Ash. Yeah, man. Uh, I just want to say obviously, this has been quite can be quite a triggering episode for quite a lot of people. So if you're out there and this has upset you and you feel like you you need to talk to some more people, obviously reach out to somebody. There's loads of charities out there that can help. You can always reach out to us at the podcast. Harry, you're a fucking legend, mate, honestly. What you've been through and what you're doing out the other side of it is unbelievable. So I'll take me out of too if I have a much.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for having me on and thank you for giving me a platform to to explain what we're doing. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01:

No, thank you for doing it, man. Thank you for coming on and telling that story because it can't have been easy.

SPEAKER_00:

No, it's not, it's not. But I do know why I've said it so many times, so I'm used to it now. Yeah, it does get a bit like that though, doesn't it? Yeah, you still you've still got it. I see I see friends I haven't seen in months, and it's like, oh, why are you bald? Yeah. Here we go. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And on that note, let's wrap it up. We'll see you next week. If you've got a story to tell, like Harry, then we want to give you a platform to tell it. So get in touch with us. We got the phone, WhatsApp us, even send us funny jokes.

SPEAKER_02:

You'd have to do the number again, mate. I've I've been sitting here week after week. I've got no idea what you're starting with.

SPEAKER_01:

Zero is it? Uh 07511-272459. Even if you want to send us a funny, I think we need a comedian on next week.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, do you know what I've done I've got a couple of voice notes to be fair, so we can play them on the podcast. I mean quite a bit and be entertaining. I've had a few messages and that, but yeah, so thank you so much for listening, guys, or watching. Uh, I've been Chris.

SPEAKER_01:

And I've been Ash. And he's been Harry. Lovely. Like, subscribe, share, keep it going. Grow the Untold podcast. We want to be the most honest podcast in the UK. See you next week. Peace.