I felt crushed as I sat in my office with the computer screen shimmering before my eyes. What could I do about this impossible disease? I was entering unknown territory.

The next few weeks was unreal. I woke up every day with a painful feeling in my stomach. Had it just been a nightmare?

Then, every morning the truth struck me like lightning. A new chapter had begun in my life, made up of investigations, catastrophic fears and meetings with more and more doctors. I found being at the other side of the desk a very unfamiliar role.

I underwent an operation in June 2016 and tried to build myself up physically for the next one in August. I knew this one would be harder.

At the same time, I had started researching the subject in more depth. I needed to read everything I could find about cancer. I was looking for the disease’s weak points. If I found any, I would make use of them.

My urge to fight grew as I found more and more information about the disease’s vulnerabilities. The faint hope within me flared up. There were so many stories out there about people who had improved their own prognosis, by adding their own efforts to the treatment that was offered to them.

I hadn’t known about this before. And I found many such trails to follow.

Was it possible to fight back?

I never thought for a moment of rejecting the oncologists’ advice about treatment. My ‘project’ would be a supplement to the usual treatment, not an alternative.

At no moment did I think it would end up as a book, Self-Defence Against Cancer.