Earlier this year we were introduced to the surgery worker who was documenting life on Covid wards in a Welsh hospital - around a month later he was diagnosed with cancer.
It has been a whirlwind of a year for David Collyer whose life as a photographer changed dramatically when his photographs taken at Nevill Hall Hospital were shared over the UK and the world.
At the time, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, who David works, for faced some incredibly tough challenges.
The 53-year-old felt he had the ability to really document these changes at the hospital in Abergavenny.
His role as a operating department practitioner (ODP) specialises in anaesthetics, which means he is able to access areas that many people don't see.
And not just the public, but also other members of staff.
One of his images was later used on the front page of the Guardian and was subsequently selected as one of the best photos of the year by a leading photography magazine.
British photographer David Hurn also branded David's work as the best Covid-related work he’d seen.
But, while life was taking so many unexpected turns in one way, he discovered his health had been changing in another.
In June David was told he had bladder cancer.
Speaking about how he felt at the time, David said: "I didn't feel unwell at all. I was just passing blood in urine. The first time it happened was about two years ago - it didn't happen again for the best part of 16 months.
"I was told that I had cancer in my bladder. I went from being the health care professional to being the patient. I was off work for six weeks.
"The only time I felt ill was post-operative - I just felt like crawling up into a ball and dying."
Luckily David was able to access health care and have the tumour removed, but he said the cancer is something he will now have to deal with for the rest of his life.
He will need to go back for regular checks to ensure the cancer hasn't returned or spread in any way.
However he hasn't returned to working on the Covid-19 wards since he's been back.
David was keen to share his experiences to enable other people, and men, to feel more comfortable with talking about their health and their emotions.
For this reason he started blogging about it.
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In the blog David said there is a "great deal of discussion over the language used around cancer."
He went onto write: "I don’t want to hear people sounding awkward when they talk to me.
"I’d rather they didn’t pussyfoot around me. I’m still me. Spades remain spades.
"I don’t have the ''Big C'. It’s not 'my illness'. It’s highly likely to be cancer and I’m going to fight it."
This sheer sense of optimism and positivity shines through the most when you talk to him.
Opening up about some of his experiences in the blog, David said:
David said: "I want people to be able to understand what it feels like - especially speaking as a man - to be be able to talk about different things.
"Being able to talk about your emotions, your feelings and your health. I wanted to show people this is what you go through, and these are the emotions."
Speaking about his health now, he added: "If you looked at me you'd never know I'm a cancer patient.
"I'm still really fit. I walk miles. I'm a very fit 50-something."
After his photographs gained such attention earlier this year, David went onto create a book called All In A Day's Work.
The book very quickly sold out due to the attention he received from the media.
It has already sold out three print runs and is going to be now released as a hardback soon.
When he was diagnosed with cancer, he stopped shooting for a while, but he's hoping to return to make another project when he can.
When asked about what the situation has been like on Covid wards during the second wave, David said: "It's still a problem, but we are changing the way we treat patients now.
"There are ways we have been able to look at situations from around the world, and how people have been treated in different ways.
"Staff are still stressed, but it doesn't feel like it did the last time, but we are looking at it from a very different view now."
To find out more about David's photography, or to ask him any further questions, contact him via his Instagram page.
