Saved by internet

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A good story to counteract the "misinformation & rubbish" on the internet.

Father dying of 'incurable' cancer is saved by the Net BY ADRIAN LEE (Daily Express 7/00) http://www.lineone.net/express/00/07/29/news/n0800net-d.html

A CANCER victim given six months to live is on the mend after he surfed the Internet - and found an American surgeon to perform the operation that saved his life.

Graham Tarling, 45, logged on to his teenage daughter's computer in search of help after being told his tumour was untreatable. He scoured the web and eventually e-mailed the surgeon, who agreed to carry out the crucial operation in Cleveland, Ohio.

Now, after a week at Cleveland Clinic Foundation and 13 hours under surgeon Novick's knife, Graham is recovering at home. He is expected to make a full recovery - and Dr Novick even predicts he could be playing football again by September.

"The Internet saved my life," Graham said yesterday. "I was just so determined to try to do something to help myself. I was 45 and with three children, I just didn't think it was right that I was going to die."

Graham, who is a manager for the Herefordshire Community NHS Health Trust, went to his GP in December after two weeks of crippling late-night pains. The doctor referred him to Hereford County Hospital, where scanning revealed a 15in kidney tumour.

Doctors told devastated Graham that surgery was too dangerous, as the tumour affected his major blood vessels, so he was put on the Alpha Interferon drug. But the course had no effect and four months later a specialist at Queen Hospital in Birmingham broke the news.

He told Graham that they could do nothing more for him - and his life expectancy was between six and 12 months. Graham and his wife Jill drove home to Eaton near Leominster, Herefordshire and told their children, Jodene, 16, nne, 22, and , 28.

However, Graham refused to accept the grim verdict and, with help from Jodene and family and friends, set about finding a second opinion on-line.

Within a fortnight he had found Californian kidney cancer expert Dr ph Spalding, who referred him to Dr Novick, a urologist Dr Novick asked Graham to send him medical records and days later e-mailed back inviting him to undergo a week of tests in Ohio. Graham and Jill, also 45, jetted across the Atlantic. After examining test results, Dr Novick offered to carry out the operation for between £33,000 and £50,000.

The couple flew home and had their house valued in a desperate scramble to raise funds. But three days before the flight back to Ohio the NHS agreed to fund the operation if Graham paid for flights and accommodation.

He landed in Cleveland on July 2 and three days later underwent the 13-hour operation to remove the malignant growth and the kidney The surgery was a success, but Graham was initially battling to stay alive as his heart struggled to retain a normal beat. Now he is back at home and on the road to recovery - although he must undergo chemotherapy and another two visits to Ohio for check-ups.

Yesterday the former Bristol City youth goalkeeper said: "I know that I could be dead now if it wasn't for my determination to stay alive. My daughter helped me on the Internet and my family also got involved searching for experts around the world.

"Even when I went out there the first time for tests, I didn't know whether he could help me - it was a long shot and things were still touch and go. But after he saw the test results he said, 'I think I can help you. You have come to the right place. I am one of the best surgeons in the world.'

"He wasn't being cocky; he was just sure that he could help. It was so reassuring to hear something like that, it gave me hope. "Having surgery has given me a totally different attitude to everything. The whole thing cost a lot of money but it was worth it." © Express Newspapers, 2000