Litter womble thought he 'was a goner' after getting shock cancer diagnosis

A Leicestershire litter womble didn’t think he’d wake up the day after being told he had Stage 4 lung cancer. Keith Johnson, who has since been given two other cancer diagnoses, was so shocked that he believed he “was a goner”.

Keith, from Enderby, was on a bucket-list holiday in Italy in 2016 when problems with his breathing first arose. It was when he came home to Leicestershire that he saw his doctor over the concerns and in the days before Christmas was given the shock news he had lung cancer.

The news stunned Keith, who immediately feared the worst. He said: “When I was first told I had Stage 4 lung cancer, I thought I was a goner. I’d always consider lung cancer to be one of the deadliest forms of cancer, so I didn’t think I’d wake up the next morning.”

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Treatment for his cancer began soon after the shock diagnosis, undergoing concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It paid off for Keith as subsequent scans went on to show that there was now no evidence of disease (NED).

All follow-up scans remained clear too, with Keith finding a new hobby in the wake of his diagnosis - Litter Wombling. The clear-up act across Leicestershire has many volunteers, with Keith among the legion helping to collect and remove litter wherever it is discarded. So far, he has helped dispose of 170,000 sacks of litter.

The new-found hobby was a great help to Keith, who kept on top of his physical and mental health, but then he was dealt with a second cancer blow. This time it was the news that he had prostate cancer.

He said: “This was almost more of a shock than my original lung cancer diagnosis as I had no symptoms. It seems a strange thing to say but I’m almost grateful that I had lung cancer because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been having those regular checks, so there’s a good chance the prostate cancer would have remained undetected, and I’d be facing a very different situation. I always think there’s a silver lining in every cloud and this was certainly the case here.”

However, that silver lining was dealt a fresh blow when Keith received his third cancer diagnosis last year when he was told that his lung cancer had come back. He’s currently undergoing new treatment and is once again keeping positive. He said: “This time around I couldn’t have any more radiotherapy but instead I’m on a new type of treatment called immunotherapy and that’s keeping everything stable.”

It’s during his treatments that Keith became aware of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, the UK’s leading lung cancer charity dedicated to helping everyone affected by the disease. Keith has received invaluable support from them as he continues treatment.

He said: “Those of us with cancer need to know what’s going on and for those of us with lung cancer, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is an essential resource. The information day my partner and I attended in Leicester was really useful.”

That’s why Keith is determined to give back and help others in similar situations at Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation events. He has shared his experiences with others newly diagnosed with the disease in a bid to show them that there is hope years down the line.

He said: “You have to have hope. Ignore the statistics and avoid Dr Google. Everyone is unique. Everyone’s cancer is unique and how everyone responds to treatment is unique.

“I don’t think many people would have expected me to still be here seven years after being told I had Stage 4 lung cancer – the stats certainly wouldn’t! But here I am and it’s onwards and upwards. I’m just trying to get the most I can out of each and every day of this adventure.”

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation events are open to anyone affected by lung cancer including patients, their families and carers. More information, including on the next event, can be found by calling 0800 358 7200 or emailing info@roycastle.org.

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