An Aboyne man who has battled blood cancer for nearly 30 years has been chosen to front a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the life-threatening condition.
John Greensmyth, 60, was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1990 during a routine medical examination when he was just 32.
The condition worsened over the years, and by 1997 the father-of-two and former offshore diver was reclassified as having chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Video courtesy of www.makebloodcancervisible.co.uk.
Now, almost 30 years later, Mr Greensmyth has been selected to play an important role in the 2018 Make Blood Cancer Visible campaign, a project designed to inform and educate the public about the condition and how to support those affected by it.
He said: “As part of my annual diving medical, an abnormality in my blood counts was apparent, and I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. At the time, I didn’t even realise it was a form of cancer.”
Mr Greensmyth said he and his wife Vera were told soon after the diagnosis that, if they wanted to have children, time was of the essence.
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He added: “Happily, we naturally conceived two children, Eoin in 1991, and Orla in 1994.
“They saw me at times when I wasn’t well, and they saw me at times when I was well, and a normal dad.
“We led what we would like to think was a normal family life.”
The dad said that, by taking part in the campaign, he hopes more people will carry out acts of kindness to help other blood cancer patients – as his son has done.
He said: “In 2012, we had a family gathering and I happened to be quite unwell at the time, and required blood transfusions.
“Eoin, who was at university in Edinburgh, said he felt a little bit helpless given what I was going through and asked if there was anything he could do.
“I told him he could just go and donate blood, so he approached the student union at his university and organised a campaign which resulted in more than 100 people donating blood, which I thought was just so powerful – a simple act of support like that really touched me.
“My hopes are that folk would actively donate blood and also join the bone marrow register because of the benefits they can bring others – they can save a life.”