{"id":829506,"date":"2026-07-27T16:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/829506\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:22:12","slug":"how-cancer-has-ruined-my-golfing-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/829506\/","title":{"rendered":"How cancer has ruined my golfing year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\tWhen I was appointed senior captain<\/a> at Dunston Hall Golf Club in January it was the honour of my life. Unlike many clubs, this is not a ceremonial post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tWe have an active seniors section of around 115 golfers and every Tuesday at least 60 of us turn up to play in various competitions – medals, stablefords, Texas scrambles, yellow ball fourballs. It is a wonderful section and I am lucky enough to have made some amazing friends at what I regard as the best club I have ever been lucky enough to be associated with.<\/p>\n

\tAs captain I was determined to make my mark and make some changes. To that end I introduced a mixed pairs knockout competition, a mixed match with our ladies section, a mixed inter-club match and a Captain\u2019s Day that everybody would remember. Mission accomplished on all fronts.<\/p>\n

\tWe have an active programme of friendly matches against other clubs in the region and another target was to involve golfers who had never before played in these matches, and I have also achieved that.<\/p>\n

\tMy big event is my Captain\u2019s Charity Day on September 8. I have played an active part in fund-raising for the previous two captains and, as a result, we have raised a total of \u00a315,000. I was determined that this year\u2019s event would be even bigger and better and have managed to get some blue-chip sponsors on board. We have some fabulous auction prizes lined up, including a Porsche 911 for a weekend, a holiday in Scotland, a full custom-fitting session with Precision Golf, two Motocaddy golf bags – the list goes on.<\/p>\n

\tIt is in aid of the East Anglian Children\u2019s Hospices (EACH), a charity that cares for terminally ill children<\/a> and supports their families. It receives little or no financial support from either the Government or the NHS and this year alone needs to raise a staggering \u00a317m from fund-raising and from its network of charity shops. It is a huge task. The charity holds a special place in my heart because my son, Kevin, is the CEO.<\/p>\n

\t\"Derek<\/p>\n

\tSo everything was going swimmingly. But then, one Saturday I experienced excruciating stomach pain. It lasted for two days and then disappeared but I was sufficiently concerned that I made an appointment to see my doctor. I was given a blood test and a few days later I was asked to return to the surgery and was informed that the test had flagged up some worrying markers. Before I knew it, I was attending Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for a CT scan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThe result was that they discovered my right kidney had a 7cm mass attached. I was called back for an appointment with a consultant who confirmed that it was almost certainly cancerous and I would need to have my right kidney removed. To say that this came as a body blow is the understatement of all time. I had been aware for some time of a dull pain in my lower back but had dismissed it.<\/p>\n

\tWithin two weeks I was under the knife and have now had my kidney removed. I have never experienced pain like it. Needless to say, I can\u2019t drive for a few weeks and I can\u2019t play golf.<\/p>\n

\tAs I said, the Senior Captain\u2019s job is not ceremonial so I had some tough decisions to make. And I reached the conclusion that, for the time being at least, I cannot give it the time it deserves so I have stepped down and my vice-captain has taken over the reins. I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support I have received from the membership.<\/p>\n

\tI will not know until August 17 if the surgeons have managed to get all the cancer. I am feeling better by the day but know that I have to be sensible. I am now up and about and walking regularly. I was able to put my feet up and watch every shot played at the recent Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. I have lost 16lb but now have my appetite back and am stuffing my face. I have even managed a trip to the pub.<\/p>\n

\tI spent three years where I was unable to play golf because of shoulder pain. I was told that I would require surgery on both shoulders but when I retired the pain disappeared within four weeks – it turned out that spending 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen was the cause. I then returned to the game and have had a ball over the past three years. I am missing golf terribly and cannot wait to be fit enough to get back out there.<\/p>\n

\tThe NHS have been wonderful – as has my wife, who has been an incredible nurse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tNo matter what I am told on August 17, I will be taking part in my Charity Day and will then have some decisions to make as to whether I resume my duties as Senior Captain.<\/p>\n

\tI count my blessings that I was sensible enough to go to the doctor and am feeling pretty optimistic about the future.<\/p>\n

\tI have written this not because I am looking for sympathy but to highlight the fact that you just never know what is around the corner and because I am certain many of you will be able to relate to what I am going through. And I feel so fortunate to have a wonderful golf community to support me.<\/p>\n

\tI will let you know what happens on August 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I was appointed senior captain at Dunston Hall Golf Club in January it was the honour of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":829507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-829506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}