It was a bruise on his ankle that wouldn’t go away that first indicated something was wrong.
John Haywood thought the little mark was a burst capillary and “thought nothing of it”.
But when his dermatologist advised him to have a biopsy, John discovered that he had a very rare sarcoma.
Further investigations revealed that John also had NLP Lymphoma - another cancer in no way linked to the patch on his ankle.
John, 46, a chief inspector with Greater Manchester Police, already had a good understanding of cancer because his wife Claire O’Rourke has dedicated her career to helping those with the disease.
But he still found that the twin diagnosis took him by surprise.
“It has been tough,” he says. “But I think it’s actually been tougher on Claire because she’s a cancer expert herself.
“I probably have more insight into cancer than most because of Claire so when I found out I was a lot further down the track than a lot of people. But it was still a shock.”
Claire, 44, who is the associate director for Greater Manchester Cancer, adds: “We were in complete shock.
“John had a bruise on his ankle for about six months that didn’t go away, so I got one of my specialists to see him. I didn’t even go to the appointment as I didn’t expect it to be anything.”
John was diagnosed with a very rare sarcoma, on his ankle, back in September.
The following month, experts told him that he was also suffering from lymphoma.
Claire said: “The hardest thing was telling my eight-year-old daughter Ellie and our wider family as everyone was so shocked.
“It has been a really tough time, but my work colleagues, friends and family have been amazing. It’s been very hard, however, I won’t lie, as cancer not only was my work life, but it became my home life too.”
John, who has been with GMP for 24 years, added: “We had to sit Eleanor down and tell her daddy has got cancer. We decided to tell her and thought it was the right thing to do.
“She’s more aware of cancer because of what Claire does.”
John had two surgeries on his leg to remove the sarcoma and will start a five-week course of radiotherapy to eradicate the cancer at The Christie, in Manchester, next week.
In March, John had radiotherapy at The Christie at Oldham to treat the lymphoma.
Three months later the family received the news that John’s lymphoma had been successfully treated.
“We couldn’t quite believe it,” Claire says. “We actually got home and had a big bottle of fizz. “We are still so happy as we just kept getting bad news all the way along it was great to get some good news.”
“We’re so lucky to have The Christie here in Manchester,” says John.
“They have been brilliant and I can’t praise them more highly. Even in a Covid situation they have been great.”
Though he still has some way to go with his treatment, John has remained active throughout this difficult time and both he and Claire have taken to social media to share their experiences.
“I’m quite a private person but I have found that we’ve had lots of support,” John says.
“When we’ve had major updates we’ve put it in Twitter and it stops those awkward conversations. I think a lot of people are frightened to ask so it’s helped in that respect.”
Both John and Claire, from Bury, have supported various cancer charities for many years.
But this year, Claire decided that she would support Lymphoma Action by running 100km.
She took on the gruelling Dixons Carphone Virtual Race to the Stones during a family holiday to Oxford earlier this month.
Claire completed the full 100km over just five days, waking up early in the morning each day to run.
“I have been running long distance for 20 years, but before this I didn’t really do much running,” she says.
“I was inspired to run by one of my cancer patients when I was a cancer nurse in palliative care. I cared for a very young woman who was a marathon runner. Sadly, she died, and I nursed her until the end, but I made her a promise that I would run a marathon.
“My first was London then New York and I’ve done loads since then but Dixons Carphone Race to the Stones in 2019 was my first ultra, which I completed the 100km run in a day.”
Despite hardly having any time off since the Covid-19 outbreak, Claire has been out running before work as much as she can.
“I do go running most days,” she says. “It’s helped me with what’s happened to John and deal with the pressure Covid has caused on our cancer services in Greater Manchester.
“I love a good challenge, it’s for a great cause and this time my daughter will be with me too.”
John, who is himself an advocate of healthy eating and an active lifestyle, says he’s very proud of Claire.
“It was fantastic,” he says. “She did quite a lot of big runs to get it out of the way.
“She was up at 5am and out running. Two runs she did some very big distances over a marathon. And she’s already raised more than £1,000 miles, which is brilliant.”
You can donate to Claire’s cause here.
