Ivan runs for Cancer Focus

Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, the official charity for this year’s Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon, is urging runners to sign up for the May Bank Holiday event on May 6. Adding his weight to the charity’s fundraising bid is Ivan McMinn, from Danske Bank, which is entering its third year as corporate partner with Cancer Focus. He is calling on the whole community to get behind the leading local cancer charity and help them raise funds to support cancer patients and their families.

Ivan is a man who is beating the odds. In November 2011 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which consistently appears at the bottom of the cancer survival league tables. Just 15% of people diagnosed have the chance of an operation and only 3% are alive after three years.

Yet five months after his diagnosis, Ivan was not only back at work but had been promoted to Head of Finance Centres with Danske Bank.

A keen runner, Ivan (50) was in training for the London Marathon when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “The first sign that things weren’t quite right was when my running times were getting slower. I’d regularly be at the gym running 10km as I was on a training schedule for the marathon.

“I just couldn’t understand why my times weren’t improving despite all the training. I put it down to having a busy day or the food I’d eaten. I’d even convinced myself that it was to be expected as I got older – but looking back, I realised that was the first indication that I was ill,” he said.

“Not long after this I developed what I can only describe as a chronic itch all over my body. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to ease it and by the time I went to see the doctor later that week my skin was raw.

“The doctor also thought that the whites of my eyes looked a bit yellow and that I possibly had jaundice so she did some tests. When these came back positive she referred me to the Royal Victoria Hospital for more tests. I was seen by many doctors and consultants, all busily trying to find out what was wrong with me. I was told that my best case scenario was that I had all the symptoms of gall bladder trouble or worst case – a blockage in the pancreas.

“When an ultrasound scan wasn’t showing up any blockages in my gall bladder, I was sent for an MRI scan. I remember the nurses being really chatty as the scan started and then there was just silence and I had a sense that things weren’t good.

“The results showed that I had a growth on my pancreas measuring 2.7cm wide. The doctors reckoned that it had been spotted early but it was close to the main blood supply. I was told that a nearby lymph node was affected but there was relief that it hadn’t spread to other organs and the doctors thought that it looked operable.

“After getting my diagnosis I had to break the news to my wife Judi and our two children – Nicholas, then 14 and Saskia, then 13. It's tough telling your children this sort of news, however I got the strength to talk this through with them without succumbing to any emotion - which helped them. Our kids went straight onto the Internet and over the next few hours the kids became experts in pancreatic cancer - they still know loads more about it than I do.

“The outlook for pancreatic cancer isn’t good and at the time it was very much in the news as Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, had just passed away from it. I knew that they’d be incredibly worried about me and my prognosis and looking back on it now, I realise that having that ‘open and honest’ chat with the kids was exactly the right thing to do and it helped them cope with it because they saw firsthand that I was coping with it.

“I had three weeks between my diagnosis and my surgery which is known as a ‘Whipples Procedure’. It is the most complex abdominal surgery undertaken. In my line of work I need to be organised and methodical and I simply applied the same techniques I use in work to identify all the things that I needed to deal with before my operation. I didn’t know what the outcome would be (10% of folks don't survive the ‘Whipples Procedure’ surgery I was about to undergo !! ) so while I hoped and prayed for the best, I planned for the worst. I'm a realistic optimist however I didn’t want my family to have to deal with all the contingencies that I could so easily sort out for them. In that 3 weeks I sorted out many things including reviewing my will, sorted out my life assurance, put in place contingencies to sell my car and even planned my own funeral,” he continued.

“As I was wheeled into surgery for my operation on December 5, 2011, I felt totally at peace. I wasn’t worried or afraid and I put this down to my strong faith. I knew that people were praying for me and it was just an amazing feeling.

“The operation went well and I was able to get home on day six. My consultant told me that a six day release from a ‘Whipples Procedure’ was a new Mater Hospital record ! Within a month I was driving again.

The results of autopsy of my cancer took a few weeks. My consultant called me in to discuss the results and I was delighted when he informed me that he had been able to extract the entire tumour, it hadn't affected any nearby organs or blood supply and also the lymph node which he'd removed since it had been identified as infected, actually wasn't infected. I could not have prayed for or imagined better news.

“I started my chemo in the middle of January. In total I had eight sessions and although the first session went well, by the end of the fourth my dose had to be reduced by 25% since I was virtually unable to walk due to the impact of the Chemo on my feet - a common syndrome of the treatment. I finished my chemo last July and now I have scans, blood tests and reviews every three months.

“I started back to work in May, working from home. As an employer, Danske Bank was superb and couldn’t do enough to help and assist me through my illness. I'll be eternally grateful for all the support they gave me and my family as I eased myself back into the workplace. I got myself back into the gym in August.

“I returned to work full time on 3rd September 2012 to a promotion. Rather than take it easier, I took on a new position as Head of Finance Centres for Danske Bank in both Northern Ireland and ROI. I now have just under 100 in the team - it's a great group of folks, we are having many successes and I love the role.

“At work our nominated charity is Cancer Focus Northern Ireland (the new name for the Ulster Cancer Foundation) and we’re raising funds for their Family Support Service which steps in to help families when a mum or dad is diagnosed with cancer. I was fortunate that my children were older and were able to understand my illness but I am more convinced than ever before how absolutely vital this service is to families. I lost my own dad to cancer when I was only seven, so as a consequence of both that experience and my own more recent one, I can relate all too well to the trauma caused when cancer enters a home.

“I've had the honour of meeting some of the families and children who use the service and the sense of hope and support it has given them is incredible.

On the 21st of April, I'll be running the London Marathon to raise funds to ensure this service is available for many years to come, but would also encourage runners to sign up for the Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon on May 6.”

Reflecting on the impact cancer has had on his life, Ivan said: “I believe cancer is as much a mental journey as a physical one so I've stayed as positive as possible. I’ve also been incredibly humbled by the support from family and friends and that greatly helped me. I've never really got emotional about the fact that I had cancer, in fact I've yet to drop the first tear or lose 10 minutes of sleep about the cancer piece but I found it incredibly moving that people had taken the time to think about me - one day alone I got 100 well-wishing texts and I have a massive box of cards and letters – now that moved me to tears!

“When you’re ill the important things rise to the surface – for me it was my faith and my family and both in equal measures helped to get me through along with the fabulous skills of my consultant Mr Tommy Diamond and his team at the Mater Hospital who carried out my surgery - I would not be writing this article today were it not for the incredible skills of Mr Diamond and his team.

“In a strange kind of way having cancer has been a privilege – it’s helped me to connect with people and get into their lives in a way that I didn’t think possible. It’s been an incredible journey. I know it’s not over yet but I’m very hopeful for what the future has in store for me.”

To help Ivan raise funds for Cancer Focus please log onto his JustGiving Page at www.justgiving.com/IvanMcMinn

To register for a marathon event log on to www.belfastcitymarathon.com.
For more information about Cancer Focus call 028 9066 3281, click on www.cancerfocusni.org or email belfastmarathon@cancerfocusni.org