Anthony’s Story

Today we’re celebrating fantastic news for our colleague Anthony Tapsell in the Harlow office. Anthony recently shared with us that he has been declared cancer free, following treatment after diagnosis in March 2020. Here’s his story: 

“My cancer journey started in January 2020, when I first noticed blood in my urine. After several visits to my GP and a short stay in hospital, on the 31st January 2020 I was told I had a tumour in my bladder. 4 weeks later I had an operation to remove the tumour and at the same time I had a chemotherapy wash of my bladder. 

On 19 March 2020, whilst having an MRI scan and a meeting with my consultant, I was told that there were cancerous cells still in my bladder. I was told that I would need to have my bladder removed and rebuilt. 

Then of course on the 23rd of March 2020, it was announced that we were going into lockdown and the following day I received a phone call from my consultant to say that my operation would now be put on hold.  

Over the next 3 weeks, I had a lot of sleepless nights, but I also had good support from the cancer nurses at Basildon Hospital and the Macmillan Cancer Support team. I then got a phone call, and it was a consultant at Southend hospital. I had been transferred as this is the cancer hospital for Essex. The consultant explained my options and that the best one was for me to have a course of radiotherapy, which I was told had a 50/50 chance of success. 

So, on Wednesday 6th May 2020, I started my course of radiotherapy. I had to attend Southend Hospital every weekday for 4 weeks. My treatment would only last about 3-5 minutes each time, but towards the end it got very draining. 

On the 2nd of June 2020 it was my last treatment day, and I have had follow up scans of my bladder regularly and each time they have been clear. 

On the 26th February 2025, at my routine appointment I was told I was cancer free, I was now at the same risk as everyone of getting it again, but they would still like to do annual scans. 

This is the short version of my cancer journey and I was one of the lucky ones. But I never gave up hope even at my lowest point. But thankfully I’m here today to say I beat cancer!! 

If I can be of any help to anyone who may be going through the same situation, then please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.” 

If you can relate to Anthony’s story, we at Affinia will do all we can to support you during this difficult time.  Your welfare is important to us, so if you wish to speak to someone confidentially, please contact a member of our People Team either via Teams or email at peopleteam@affinia.co.uk 

External support available: 

Just been diagnosed? | Macmillan Cancer Support 

Cancer information | Cancer Research UK