Meet Nilesh

Father-of-two Nilesh was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March 2011.

His work as a media volunteer has seen him involved in the 'I Pledge' Legacy campaign and World Cancer Day recognition. He is one of our Impact and Relevance Hub volunteers and supported our work with corporate partners like Tesco as well as supporting with numerous media requests.

Nilesh started noticing a cough in September of 2010 that wasn’t clearing – he had experienced some other changes but didn’t think they were serious. He went to see a GP and, because of all the symptoms, he went into hospital for a CT scan.

“I’d also had night sweats and noticed my urine was darker, but had not thought for one minute that they were signs of cancer.

“A couple of weeks later I came back to see the consultant. He told me there and then - I had kidney cancer. I remember the shock I felt.

“My mum had been through breast cancer herself, so when it came to having the operation to have my kidney removed, I was scared to tell her until the day before.”

Nilesh went on to take part in a Cancer Research UK clinical trial which monitors kidney cancer patients after surgery.

“I feel really good that I took part in a clinical trial, not because I was able to help myself, but because I helped research. 

“Today I am feeling great and am very positive about the future.”