As he approached 50 years of age, John Wilkinson had everything he could have wished for: a good balance between his loving family and a busy work life. But in 2017, his world was turned upside down.
An aggressive, large and very rare cancerous tumour had taken residence in his face and John’s future looked extremely bleak. He underwent 30 hours of life-changing maxillofacial surgery across several operations, received almost 400 stitches and then endured other treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. His family, friends and medical team were amazed at his resolve and wanted to bottle some of his mindset.
Whilst recovering from the shock of the first operation, John had an epiphany. He wished to help others facing cancer and give something back – a ‘thank you’ to those who had helped him. He wrote his first book; Face Cancer. An insightful, inspriational and honest account that takes us through his life before cancer and beyond. It captures the gripping key moments during his battle and offers advice to others. Written in the moment, these pages reflect a kaleidoscope of emotions experienced along the way - expect to both laugh and cry.
Unfortunately, two years later the cancer had spread to John's brain, damaging nerves and causing seizures of the temporal lobe, which dramatically change an individual's personality. John's short-term memory was also affected and he struggled to focus, unable to even read a newspaper or watch the news. However, in his selfless way, despite suffering greatly, John put his personal struggle to one side and found the drive and determination to help others. He felt compelled to raise awareness of this awful disease and to draw attention to the fact that head and neck cancer is more treatable if caught early. He wrote a second book!!
An illustrated poem - HANC the cat / Raising Awareness for Head And Neck Cancer
All book proceeds are directed to The John Wilkinson Face Cancer Charitable Trust. It is an unincorporated association set up to pay all costs and distributes all net proceeds to cancer charities such as the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Oracle Cancer Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK, to support their fight against the disease.
Description:
This insightful, inspirational and humorous account takes us through John’s life before cancer, and beyond. It captures the gripping key moments during his battle and offers advice to patients, carers and supporters with similar challenges. Face Cancer summarises key lessons learnt by John in the hope that these may provide a nugget of gold for somebody in need. Written in the moment, these pages reflect a kaleidoscope of emotions experienced along the way – expect to both laugh and cry. The read is exceptional.
All Net proceeds from the sale of the book are directed to cancer charities. By purchasing here you maximise the value of this, as retailers need to make a margin. At least 50% of the net proceeds from this website's sales will be directed to the 3 endorsing charities quoted as other charities may emerge.