Shadow of a Survivor: This Astonishing Memoir - From One of the World's Longest Cancer Survivors

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This is the story of John Walker Pattison – an ordinary man who's lived an extraordinary life. Diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 18…. he survived…and thrived… and this book explains how…

NEW YORK - TelAve -- John Walker Pattison's life reads like a novel—one filled with unimaginable challenges, breathtaking comebacks, and deep spiritual journeys. In his compelling memoir, 'Shadow of a Survivor,' he offers an unflinching and engaging look at being one of the longest cancer survivors in the UK today, perhaps even the world.

Today, he is one of the world's longest cancer survivors, and he is striving to inspire others.

Born in South Shields sixty-nine years ago, Pattison left school with a handful of worthless qualifications, starting work in a local shipyard. That was until, at the age of eighteen, the spectre of cancer took his life in a deathly stranglehold and sculptured his future.

After collapsing at work, a battery of tests revealed he had stage IV lymphoma—something his parents and the doctors initially tried to keep from him—and his chance of survival was slim.

That betrayal of trust—no matter how well-meaning—marked a turning point. Following the wreckage of failed treatments that ravaged his physical frame and almost destroyed his psychological stability, he relapsed four times. At a time when most of his friends were embarking on new and exciting adventures, Pattison found himself on a drastically different path, one marked by uncertainty, fear, and what doctors said would be a death sentence. Yet a final course of palliative chemotherapy triggered a remarkable, unexplained remission.

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Tragically, less than ten years later, his four-year-old daughter, Donna, is diagnosed with terminal leukaemia. She too, endured the brutality of chemotherapy, and despite that dire prognosis, she survived. She went on to represent Team GB at the world swimming championships in New Zealand, returning with two silver medals.

From the ashes of suffering, he rose—not just healed, but transformed. Pattison returned to college, then to the very hospital that made his diagnosis decades earlier; he became a senior cancer nurse specialist, guiding others through the same darkness he had once known.

Throughout his journey, Pattisons inspirations were space rock legends Hawkwind. He eventually joined the band's road crew, touring with them across the UK. In 2007, at Donnington, he was invited on-stage to perform a rewritten version of 'Ten Seconds of Forever,' reframing the original number to reflect the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis. It was a defining moment, made more powerful by the presence of his soulmate and wife, June, at the side of the stage.

But, more significantly, he found solace during his cancer pathway in the history and spirituality of the Lakota Sioux nation. In 2018, he spent a week on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with the indigenous people of South Dakota. On the final night, he was bestowed as an honorary member of the tribal council—a moment he describes as one of the greatest honours of his life. However, he knows that being a cancer survivor for more than fifty-one-years is his greatest achievement.

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Shadow of a Survivor is a raw, honest account of survivorship, jam-packed with an authenticity that will stimulate every emotion, from tears to laughter. His memoir is more than an award-winning chronicle. It's a lifeline—a testament to resilience, to love, and to fierce strength that can rise from suffering.

Pattison retired a few years ago due to ongoing health issues, including a new cancer diagnosis, all because of the salubrious chemotherapy and radiotherapy he was given in the seventies. Yet, there is little doubt that the crucial hinge in his life is his beautiful wife, June. "Nothing is more important than family," says John.

Shadow of a Survivor is a raw, honest account of survivorship, jam-packed with an authenticity that will stimulate every emotion, from tears to laughter.

John W Pattison – A life shaped by cancer, but not defined by it. (https://johnwpattison.co.uk/)

Source: John Walker Pattison, Author
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