'You're not meant to be here'

A Cavanman with a rare form of cancer, who continues to defy medical experts, despite repeated prognoses giving him just months to live, is set to raffle off a tractor he restored during his treatment time to raise money for cancer research.

Norman Wilson from Mountainlodge was diagnosed with cancer in the jawbone back in October 2012.
“I’d just turned 50, it was a few months after,” explains Norman, who says the first indicator that something serious might be wrong was his teeth began getting loose.
“I went to a dentist and they thought it might be gum disease. It was after I had a tooth removed that’s when the pain started. I got a swelling in the jaw and I was sent to see a specialist at the Dental Hospital in Dublin where I was diagnosed with cancer.
“It was an aggressive cancer they told me, very aggressive. I was very shocked. It’s frightening. I’ll tell you something, that moment is something you don’t forget easily,” says Norman.

Operation
Undergoing an operation at St James’ Hospital in Dublin to remove his jawbone, Norman was told beforehand by consultants if he didn’t go through with the procedure, they estimated he had just months to live.
“What can you do? They told me three months if I didn’t have the operation, so I had the operation and they removed the entire jawbone,” he told The Anglo-Celt, adding that he went through subsequent bouts of both chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Along with the jawbone, surgeons also removed part of Norman’s tongue, which has affected his speech.
“It means I can’t eat. The only time it really bothers me is when someone next to me is eating a nice meal, and I’m feeling a bit hungry.”
But the treatment failed to have the desired treatment effect, with the cancer coming back a second time in mid-2013.
“I’d thought I’d got through it, but I had to go through it again. Back in the jaw,” explained Norman.

Prayer
Traditionally a cancer associated with smoking, Norman, who never smoked, met a doctor from the Mater in Cavan General who put him on a further course of medication in a bid to beat the growth of the tumour. A specialist drug did work, reducing the tumour from six-and-a-half inches to just one-and-a-half inches, with Norman believing the change is down to both medical and divine intervention.
The farmer and married father of two said: “I’d have strong faith yes.
“There were a lot of prayers said and a lot of people praying for me. My family were very strong around me, the whole community were in fact.”

Therapy
During his treatment, as a distraction to what else was going on in his life, Norman used his mechanical skills to restore and refurbish old vintage tractors, selling others off, but keeping one, his pride and joy, a 1965 Massey Ferguson 135.
“It helped me not think about it. It was a good distraction. I had to do something. It kept me busy.”
He is now set to part with his pet project, all for a good cause, putting it up as first prize in a raffle, which will take place at McCabe’s in Mountainlodge on October 29 next.
In aid of the Irish Cancer Society and Cancer Friends Groups: Cootehill Cancer Support Group, Cavan-Monaghan Palliative Care and Cavan General Oncology Ward, Norman says: “I’ll be bringing it around to all the agricultural shows in the summer.”
Tickets are €5 per line or four for €10. There are cash prizes for second and third and the draw takes place in October later this year.”

'Not meant to be here’
Now doctors are afraid to give a prognosis to Norman in case he continues to defy their medical expertise.
“It’s been stable at one-and-a-half inches for the past three years. 'You’re not meant to be here’ the doctors said to me, but I’m still here.
“I asked that question the last time I was in there and they nearly don’t want to tell me any more.
“I suppose I don’t want to know either. It’s better just to get on with it. I put a lot down to the man above and I take each day as it comes. That’s the only way I can do it,” adds Norman.