Boycott was lucky in the sense that because of his popularity, there were a lot of people who came forward for his help. He was restless throughout the period. Chemotherapy makes the body extremely weak. It completely neutralises the immune system which will take more than 2 years to be fully restored. The body is open to any infection. Chris Woollams suggested to GB to apply Vaseline on the nostrils because the hair in the nose is the first line of defense against any airborne disease. It must be moist and sticky for any germs to be caught. Chris Woollams had given Boycott a list of herbal supplements to help his body recover to flush out all the dead cancer cells that would be floating because of chemotherapy. This blog is about Boycott and cancer treatment.
The procedure
For the next 7 weeks, Boycott and Rachael were stuck with the trip to Cookridge and home. Boycott used to leave the house at 7 AM because the session was at 9 AM. Later, this was changed to 12 PM. The nurse also told him not to miss any session because that would mean for the doctors to recalibrate everything. Before the session, Boycott had to wear a plastic mask and lay still on the table. The mask will be marked by Catherine for the laser to send its rays. It is essential for the patient to stay still because even with a slight movement, Boycott would have been paralysed from the neck down. During the early days of the treatment, Boycott drove himself to the treatment but later on, he started to feel the effects. His mouth dried, his body became weak and overall, he was damn tired.
On 14 November, Dr. Catherine scheduled an appointment with a nutritionist who explained that a tube needed to be fitted to feed Boycott when the pain from the burns in the mouth and throat became too much to bear. Remember, Boycott had cancer cells on his shoulder, neck and on the tongue. Eating food became increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, Rachael tried to keep the family together. She decided to keep some humour and laughter in their lives. By week 4, the pain started to increase and the burns on the skin hurt. Boycott developed terrible raw burns and it had to be covered incase of infection. He lost the skin on the collar bones, then, the neck and skin on the left cheek. He was given sponge-like pads to tape the wounds.
The feeding system
Before the radiation, all of that, the tape, was removed and when the cold air hit the burns, the pain was terrible. Every session made the burnt skin worse but he had to continue the treatment. He still travelled to York for vitamin treatments but required Rachael to drive him along. Boycott became so weak that he was barely able to walk. As a result, he spent a lot of time at home watching TV. He began to lose weight alarmingly. His dresses did not fit him and so new ones had to be bought.
Yet, he resisted the tube from being inserted into his mouth to feed him. He began to lose weight alarmingly. It had a direct impact on his intake. Boycott could bluff no more. Eventually, the doctors prevailed and a tube was inserted through his mouth through which food was swallowed. Rachael was shown how to use the tube. She was told that Boycott must never lie flat on the back because if the food gets into the lungs, it could have lethal consequences. 9 December was the last day of radiation.
While at the hospital, Boycott hallucinated all kinds of possibilities. He didn’t know where he was. He felt like being kidnapped by the IRA. Racheal felt something was not correct and asked her brother Mick to bring Boycott back home. He completed his therapy but was told that the radiation would be in the body for 2 more weeks.
Recovery
Chris Woollams wanted Boycott to have acupuncture as soon as laser treatment was over. It will help in getting the immune system up and running. Robin Crowley was the acupuncture specialist. Now, Boycott had two long car trips every week. One to meet Dr. Catherine and the other to meet Dr. Crowley. He did not flinch and was determined. Slowly but surely, Boycott started to improve. The patches throughout the neck and shoulders were gone and the tube was almost removed. ESPN, GB’s employer kept in constant touch.
Throughout the period, ESPN never once shied away from paying Boycott’s salary though he wasn’t working at all. This was a gesture that Boycott will forever be indebted to them. They also passed the letters from the fans in India. His recovery was not in a straight line. It will go up only for it to come crashing down. However, he was recovering but not fast enough.
Marriage
Boycott and his then girlfriend, Rachael decided to get married after he recovers. He invited only family and friends from the closest circle. The registrar too played his part in not divulging the details so that the press will not know. Boycott’s brother, Peter with whom Boycott wasn’t on talking terms, was invited at the last moment. However, his other brother did not attend because he had already booked his holiday. The marriage was a simple affair. The press got to know about it only after 4 days had passed.
Improvement in health and travel
After 16 weeks, the doctor promised to remove the tube which used to feed Boycott during this recovery period. Semi-solid foods were introduced into his diet. Slowly and surely, Boycott began to regain his normal self. He gained weight albeit slowly. His wife included sugar in every food to help him gain weight. The taste buds were still not healed. This enabled Rachael to sweeten every food that Boycott ate so that he could regain weight rather quickly. Even carrots and potato was sweet. Emma, his daughter knew about it but she was sworn to secrecy by her mother.
The first trip after his treatment was to South Africa. While in SA, Racheal took a picture of Boycott, skinny, that he had in his wardrobe for a long time which motivated him to eat and gain weight quickly. He also had this desire to buy a plot in South Africa because on his first tour of the country, Boycott was bitten by the beauty of the country. He bought a plot near Paarl while on this trip without even seeing the property.
As soon as he was back in England, he met Dr. Catherine who removed his feeding machine. She also told him that there was an 80% chance in most cases for the cancer to reappear and hence, he will need monthly checkups for 5 years. After that, once in 2 months. As he improved, the family began to invite their friends for dinner. Fred Trueman and his wife. Richard and Allison Knaggs and so on. He was also asked to appear on This Is Your Life for Alec Stewart. Boycott has high regard for Stewart. He is of the opinion that Stewart must have been appreciated a lot more during his playing career.
Starting to work
In a few months, he started to write for the Daily Telegraph and was invited to Fred Trueman’s home for the first time. He had never been to Fred’s house before. Following his employment with Daily Telegraphy, the floodgates opened with a lot more interviews. First to Mark Nicholas who had been nagging Boycott for a longtime, then to Jonathan Agnew. He flew to India for promotional work where he addressed a press conference for 3 hours and also flew to Singapore where he was joined by his family. All of this for ESPN who took care of him when he when he was inflicted with cancer. He also started his commentary stint during the full series between India and Australia. He had to fly to Australia for the stint for which he sought Dr. Catherine’s advise. Life was slowly coming back to normal for Geoffrey Boycott.
Boycott about cancer treatment
