Op success for cancer battler as tumours go
A father-of-five battling cancer has spoken of his joy after scans showed tumours in his liver have disappeared.
Irfon Williams revealed the results after undergoing microwave ablation treatment at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital earlier this month.
The 46 year-old from Bangor described the news as “fantastic”.
The former nursing manager will now undergo two bouts of surgery to remove tumours from his lungs at hospital in Liverpool.
Irfon said: “I had treatment on my liver about two weeks ago and I did experience some complications after the procedure.
“But I was told yesterday that scans showed the treatment was successful and I have no tumours on the liver.
“I still have tumours on my lungs though but the plan is to operate on my lungs in the near future in the hope of getting rid of the tumours there also.”
Irfon was first diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and became the local face of the fight against the disease, launching the #TeamIrfon campaign in May 2014 to support patients on Ysbyty Gwynedd’s Alaw ward.
He hit the headlines again in March last year when he was forced to move to England to receive a course of Cetuximab treatment, as the cancer treatment drug was not available in North Wales.
His treatment was a success and meant his tumours shrunk enough to allow him to undergo surgery to remove those tumours.
And those tumours were successfully removed from his bowel and liver in August last year following procedures at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool.
Irfon has since moved back to Bangor.
In December last year, Irfon announced he was in remission from the disease after blood tests and scans showed no signs of cancer
However, Irfon suffered a setback in July when he was told that three tumours had returned to his liver and some had spread to his lungs.
But the latest news will come as a boost for Irfon in his fight to beat the disease.
“It’s fantastic news the fact that the tumours in the liver have now been removed as they are more lifethreatening.” he said.
“It’s a step in the right direction and doctors are very positive they can operate on the lungs also.”
“I’m just going to stay positive and keep on fighting.”