From classes to chemo

Within a five day window, Dartmouth resident Neill Spencer went from preparing for final exams to receiving chemotherapy for a form of leukemia.

It was just after the Easter long weekend in 2010, when Neill felt abnormally fatigued, developed a disturbing rash, along with pain in one of his legs. Neill’s doctor advised him to have a few blood tests taken to see if they could get to the root of the problem. When the doctor called later the next day and told Neill that he needed to get himself to the emergency department, the word leukemia was mentioned.

“I knew leukemia was cancer but I didn’t really know what it was all about,” recalls Neill, who was 19-years-old at the time. After arriving at emergency with his family, Neill was admitted and put through various tests and CT and MRI scans before his diagnosis was confirmed – acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is a cancer of the white blood cells.

It was hard to believe that someone as healthy and as fit as Neill, who was named student athlete of the year one calendar year ago, was now battling cancer. “I felt like I needed to be extra strong for everyone around me because they all seemed so shocked that I had cancer,” says Neill.

Neill spent a month in hospital before he started regular outpatient treatment appointments in the Medical Day Unit. For the first several months, Neill would visit Medical Day several days a week for chemotherapy or radiation treatment, and those treatment sessions could range from five minutes to seven hours. “The staff in the Medical Day Unit are amazing, despite the not so wonderful conditions of the Unit,” says Neill.

Today, 20-year-old Neill visits the Medical Day Unit once a week for low doses of chemotherapy. During his four hour appointment, he catches up on some reading or sleep, or passes the time playing cards with one of his parents. Although he has about a year left of treatment, Neill is back to hitting the gym and hanging out with friends on camping trips.

With his positive, optimistic attitude, Neill simply suggests “don’t ever take a day for granted”; that motto will likely serve Neill well while he finishes his studies at Saint Mary’s University and works towards becoming a civil engineer.