I’m having my third foot surgery on 24th April. It’s because a side effect of my cancer treatment was developing foot ulcers, which then became infected. The cancer treatment has weakened my immune system so I have been unable to fight the infections off myself. After trying various other treatments which didn’t work, the only thing left to try was surgical debridement, which is where they cut out the dead, damaged and infected parts from my feet.

This is my third surgery. They couldn’t do it all in one go because they can only use a certain amount of local anaesthetic each time and with multiple areas that need treating, they had to break it up into several separate surgeries.

After the surgery my feet will be bandaged and have to be kept dry. The dressings need to be changed daily. Although the NHS pays for the surgery they don’t pay for the shower boots needed to keep the dressings dry, or the dressings themselves. At the hospital they sell the dressing packs and the shower boots themselves to make sure the patient is getting the right type and size. I did buy shower boots last time but they haven’t stood up to months of use and now let water in.