How to survive cancer, from the man who has beaten the disease five times

When Bill Potts answers nan telephone to DailyMail.com, he is infectiously jubilant. 

The father-of-three has survived cancer 5 times: thyroid crab erstwhile and non-Hodgkin lymphoma 4 times. 

'It sounds overseas to moreover opportunity those words [five clip crab survivor]. It's specified a large number,' he said. 'It's humbling... And I'm evidently grateful.'

He stays razor focused for nan full hr and 20 infinitesimal call, which he later claims is 1 of nan lessons he learned from his rollercoaster aesculapian battle: soak each acquisition up for illustration it's your last. 

'You commencement surviving successful nan coming a batch more, because nan early is not guaranteed,' he said. 

Mr Potts, 63, from St Petersburg, Florida, useful successful income and has waged a 20-year conflict against nan disease. 

As a crab veteran, he has decades of acquisition undergoing treatments and dealing pinch their broadside effects and has a wealthiness of proposal to springiness different crab patients. 

He offered immoderate of this proposal and extended his condolences to Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, who revealed Friday she is undergoing curen for an chartless shape of nan disease. 

'If I could springiness her conscionable 1 portion of advice,' he said, 'It would beryllium to enactment connected course. Focus 100 percent of your efforts connected fighting nan cancer. Let your family and adjacent friends support you. Now is nan clip to attraction conscionable connected you... and springiness yourself grace for being conscionable focused connected you.'

For Mr Potts, it each started successful 2003, erstwhile his superior attraction expert informed him during a regular doctor's assignment that location was 'something wrong' pinch his thyroid.

'He could actually physically spot a tumor that was connected my thyroid connected my neck,' Mr Potts said.

At nan time, Mr Potts was 42, successful awesome style pinch nary symptoms.

'I was shocked,' he said. 'I sewage physically sick successful nan doctor's agency erstwhile they told me.'

A biopsy confirmed it was thyroid cancer, and he had it removed during a 5 and a half hr surgery, followed by an aggravated people of radiation treatment.

Doctors astatine a different session later told Mr Potts nan precocious radiation he received for nan thyroid crab whitethorn person been nan origin of his adjacent crab - Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, which returned aggregate times.

Radiation involves using beams of aggravated power to termination crab cells. Because it's not 100 percent accurate, patient surrounding insubstantial tin go damaged, starring to mutations that raise nan consequence of cancer.

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma affects nan lymph system, nan tissues and organs that produce, store, and transportation achromatic humor cells that conflict infections and different diseases.

There is simply a ample attraction of lymph nodes astir nan neck. 

'I was successful nan infirmary for that [radiotherapy] and sewage released.

At this point, 'I thought I was done pinch my crab journey,' Mr Potts said.

But six months later, doctors told him nan thyroid crab had travel backmost and he would request to spell done radiation curen again.

'I'm like, hold a second, that doesn't walk nan sniff test,' Mr Potts said. 'How could I person thyroid crab backmost erstwhile my thyroid was removed, and I went done important significant amounts of radiation curen to zap retired what was left?'

Confused, he decided to get a 2nd opinion. He went to MD Anderson, nan number 1 crab halfway successful nan US, who told him while he did not person thyroid cancer, he had received a very ample magnitude of radiation therapy.

Then 5 years aft his first diagnosis, successful 2008, he was diagnosed pinch shape 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Doctors told him they would beryllium prescribing him aggravated chemotherapy.

'This time, I did not panic. I did not freak out. I was sad. Mad. Shocked. But, I knew really to negociate it,' he said.

Desperate not to suffer his hair, Mr Potts refused, and demanded that nan doctors came up pinch an replacement solution.

'It took a while. They met for astir 2 hours. I almost missed my formation backmost to Tampa. They said: 'You'll person ne'er heard of this before, because really, nobody's heard of this before. But we're testing this point called immunotherapy.'

In 2008, immunotherapy was reasonably new, though now it is simply a communal shape of treatment. It useful by boosting aliases changing really nan body's immune strategy useful to thief it conflict nan cancer.

He was diligent number 23 successful an immunotherapy objective proceedings and arsenic a result, went into remission for 5 and half years.

Going for a 2nd sentiment and being your ain advocator are 2 awesome pieces of proposal Mr Potts stresses for different crab patients. 

A life-long athlete, Mr Potts said workout is 'a immense thief for personification pinch crab aliases crab that will travel back', he said. 

Before treatments, he walks, bikes and plays tennis. 

During treatments is 'a full different story', he said. 'My main extremity is to conscionable locomotion a spot each time – and if I cannot locomotion – past I conscionable beryllium outside.'

After immunotherapy put him successful remission from his lymphoma, it wasn't until six years later, successful 2014, that it came back. This time, Mr Potts had room to return a cancerous tumor retired of this pharynx and went done curen again.

Then successful 2019, nan lymphoma came backmost again successful his groin area and he was treated again astatine MD Anderson. In September 2020, aft different 11 months of being successful remission, his lymphoma returned yet again.

'It was a frustrating moment,' he said. 

He had room to region nan caller tumor beneath his correct hip, followed by an 'ugly six months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.'

As portion of his crab journey, Mr Potts takes his fare seriously.

He avoids fried foods, reddish nutrient and fatty and sugary foods. He has besides dramatically reduced his diary intake and drinks a batch much water.

Immune-boosting foods including 'lots of veggies, including colored peppers, fruits and thin achromatic meat,' now capable his meals.

Another portion of proposal from Mr Potts is to build a cancer-beating team. 

'For me, it's my superior attraction physician, I've sewage a dermatologist because I had tegument issues from my chemotherapy, I person to make judge I get my dental wellness taken attraction of, each these are impacted by your treatments.'

As good arsenic aesculapian professionals, it's besides family and friends. Mr Potts has 2 copy daughters, Anna and Sarah, and a boy named Nick.

His family besides helped retired pinch penning parts of nan 168-page book, including a section connected really to woody pinch a crab diligent if you are their spouse aliases family.

The book is simply a 'What to expect erstwhile you're expecting,' but for cancer, he said and is brimming pinch seemingly mini applicable tips that tin make a large difference.

For instance, don't valet parkland erstwhile you're going for treatment, because you're not going to want to salary for your car erstwhile you travel retired of nan hospital.

His different tips are to not fto a crab test specify you, and to enactment positive.

And finally, make judge to support an oculus connected those caring for you.

'If you're a parent, aliases a sibling, aliases a boy aliases daughter, which everybody is, don't hide to support an oculus connected them,' Mr Potts said. 

'You request to support an oculus connected really they're doing and make judge that they spell get nan thief and support that they request arsenic nan family personnel of a patient.

'You've sewage to ever punctual yourself, really are they doing and what tin I do to get them immoderate support? Which is why it comes successful useful to person extracurricular buddies to spell pinch you to curen truthful that sometimes you tin springiness your spouse a break.'

Mr Potts added: 'If I'm going to unrecorded to property 93, it's gonna person to beryllium a batch much than five-time crab survivor, it's going to get to 10, 11, 12 times, truthful we'll see.'

Up For The Fight is disposable connected Amazon.