Tory MP Who Beat Cancer Offers Advice To Those Who’ve Been Diagnosed

19 October 2017, 18:43 | Updated: 19 October 2017, 19:02

A former Conservative minister who was diagnosed with cancer almost a year ago has opened up about his recovery and offered advice to those going through a similar situation.

Nick Boles under went chemotherapy after doctors discovered a tumour in his head in October 2016.

It was the second time in 10 years the former skills minister had been treated for cancer.

In 2007 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Joining Iain Dale on Thursday, the MP for Grantham and Stamford described how his illness was discovered when he began “seeing double” behind the wheel.

“I assumed that if I just slept it off and had a few glasses of wine it would correct itself," he said. "But it hadn't corrected myself and I took myself to hospital and discovered that I had a tumour in my head."

During the pair’s conversation, Mr Boles offered some important advice to listeners who may have just had a diagnosis.

He continued: “Think of it as a journey and it's a long and arduous journey and you don't get to choose the route.

“The most important thing is just to keep focused on putting one foot in front of the other and eventually the journey will finish and you'll be out the other side.

“If you get too caught up in the sort of emotion of a battle I think that could end up being sort of emotionally quite consuming and perhaps not very helpful because you are not in control of the timetable.”