Having gone through the ordeal of being operated on for pancreatic cancer, Albert Connell felt as if he was being swallowed by a wave of darkness upon being told he still needed to undergo chemotherapy.
“I was distraught and completely in the dark – I didn’t know what would happen or what I should expect.
“But when nurses Abigail [Camenzuli] and Elysia [Mercieca] approached me, it was as if a ray of light suddenly appeared,” he said.
The 65-year-old waxed lyrical about the team of medical professionals who treated him at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital and Mater Dei Hospital, in particular the Aurora Support Service.
Aurora, the brainchild of Ms Camenzuli, 28, and Ms Mercieca, 24, is a nurse-led support service at Boffa targeting cancer patients who need chemotherapy.
“They were of immense support. They invited me to attend a class they give and I immediately accepted. The class was extremely informative – they informed me about what I would be feeling, which foods to eat and which to avoid and what to expect.
“And as the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.”
Mr Connell urged other patients to attend the free classes and to make use of the services offered. Fear of the unknown and dozens of unanswered questions only make matters worse, he said.
Mr Connell was diagnosed a year and two months ago. He was flown to the UK but was ultimately operated upon in Malta, where a part of his pancreas and stomach were removed.
The last time that I was administered chemotherapy, I went home and spent the next two days building a chicken coop
Unfortunately, he also contracted the MRSA bug, which confined him to a hospital bed for a further two months. To ensure that the cancer was completely eradicated, he was told he would need to undergo chemotherapy.
Now undergoing his final cycle, Mr Connell keeps in regular contact with the two nurses.
“I’m their best promoter,” he chuckled. “They’re great – they keep in touch and they keep motivating me as well as my wife, Josephine. I feel much better. I’m a carpenter by trade and in fact, the last time I was administered chemotherapy, I went home and spent the next two days building a chicken coop.
“Even though the next day I could barely get out of bed,” he added.
Ms Camenzuli said that the appreciation shown by patients such as Mr Connell was an incredible source of motivation and courage for them.
“Since we first started in December, the response has been great. We only hope that more people will come.”
Ms Mercieca added that they were thinking of introducing a new service in the future.
“There seems to be a gap in terms of post-treatment. What happens after I finish treatment? I’m suddenly no longer a patient. What happened to my support and whom can I now phone?
“A person may feel lost again – and we hope to set up group sessions to address this issue in the future.”