I had a lump in my neck for a year before I saw my GP
Chef Billy Wright is on a mission to get men talking about their health.
The 2016 Masterchef finalist was diagnosed with thyroid cancer aged 33, after he had ignored a lump in his neck for more than a year.
“Men definitely need to get better at talking about their symptoms,” says Billy, now 35. “I didn’t go to a doctor until about a year after I should have done, but with these things the sooner they catch it, the easier it is to treat.”
He blames his reluctance to get it checked on having a British “stiff upper lip” attitude to his health, something he says men suffer from more than women.
“I always suffered from swollen glands and sore throats as a child, and I assumed it was just a gland that hadn’t gone down, so I stupidly never got it checked,” he says.
With his easy-going demeanour, Billy captured hearts among viewers when he competed on Masterchef, and made it to the final. Overnight he became a household name, and went on to found a business with fellow finalist and close friend Jack Layer.
“A lot changed in such a short space of time. When you appear on Masterchef, you go from being a good home cook to being thrust onto TV and watched by six million people in the final,” says Billy, who lives in West London with his girlfriend Zoe, 32, who is an art consultant.
It was in the midst of all this success that Billy received his devastating diagnosis. A year after he had found the lump he developed a cough that didn’t go away, so he finally booked a doctor’s appointment where he was told by the GP that he may have pneumonia.
But an ultrasound scan revealed something different – two cancerous tumours growing in his neck.
Doctors suspected the cancer was lymphoma, a disease that affects lymphocyte cells, which live in the lymph nodes, spleen, thymus and bone marrow.
Depending on the severity of the disease, lymphoma can be treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplants.
Over the next five weeks
Billy had tests to assess how far the cancer had spread.
“Those five weeks were the worst part because we were all on tenterhooks waiting for a diagnosis,” he says. “Everyone was very supportive. My mum’s had bowel cancer so she was a very good person to talk to.”
Billy had a biopsy on the tumours, and doctors discovered that he didn’t have lymphoma but instead had thyroid cancer.
“It is a much more treatable cancer,” he says. “So in a way it was a relief. For me it was the not knowing that was worst.”
During a gruelling ninehour operation, Billy had his thyroid removed. At the same time, surgeons removed 101 lymph nodes for testing to see if the cancer had spread.
Of those lymph nodes,
■■ Early symptoms of thyroid cancer can include a lump or swelling in the neck and hoarseness or vocal changes which don’t go away
■■ Thyroid cancer is treatable, and has a survival rate of 98% for people younger than 50
■■Around one in 20 thyroid lumps are cancerous
■■Papillary carcinoma, the most common type of thyroid cancer, usually affects people under 40 and is more common in women.
Billy, left with his fellow runners around a third had been infected. “One of the tumours was very close to an artery, so the surgery took a lot longer than expected. It was a worrying time for my parents,” he says.
Following the success of the operation, Billy was given a round of radioactive iodine treatment. “I had to take an iodine capsule and lie in a lead-lined room for three days,” he says. “The thyroid cells live on iodine, so they eat it and it kills any microscopic cancers that are left.”
Billy admits it was a lonely time. “The
room had a stable door, so people could visit for a short amount of time, but I wasn’t able to really go near anyone for days,” he says. “It was pretty intense.”
He finished the treatment in August 2017 and now has check-ups every three months at the Royal Marsden Hospital in West London. After a year, doctors couldn’t find any cancer traces.
“The doctors are pleased, and I feel really good,” he says.
The thyroid produces hormones which regulate how quickly the body’s processes happen. Without one, Billy will have to take medication for the rest of his life. Producing too few thyroid hormones can leave people feeling lethargic and make them gain weight, while people who produce too many feel anxious and may lose weight.
“Some days I don’t feel 100%. I just feel groggy,” he says. “The doctors have tweaked my medication and once I’ve eaten it tends to go away.”
A nerve near Billy’s voicebox was also damaged during the procedure.
“That meant I had quite a low squeaky voice for about a month after the operation and had to go for voice therapy, but it came back absolutely fine,” he adds.
After his treatment, Billy is determined to remain positive.
“I’m trying not to take things for granted. Having cancer does focus your mind on how you treat yourself and people around you,” he says.
“I’ve always been a fairly joyful character, which hasn’t changed. I think you’ve got to be an optimist rather than a pessimist.”
His only regret is that he didn’t have the lump on his neck checked sooner. “If I’d gone earlier I’d have needed a much less drastic operation,” he says.
“You live and learn. These days I try not be as stoic as you might otherwise be as a chap.”
■■Billy is running the London Landmarks half marathon to raise money for Cancer Research UK. To donate, visit justgiving.com/ fundraising/the-master-bakers
One tumour was close to an artery so the surgery took a lot longer. It was a worrying time for my parents