Paolo Lizzeri films in the cancer care centre to explain his treatments
Paolo Lizzeri was 24 when he first rang the bell at the treatment centre to declare he was cancer-free.
Now on his third diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in six years, the 31-year-old from Glasgow has created a YouTube channel to help other young patients.
He is charting his latest cancer journey in a series of upbeat films under the tongue-in-cheek banner 3rd Time Unlucky.
The videos capture his experiences of treatment and living with the disease.
“If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry,” Paolo told BBC Scotland News. “The ultimate goal of my channel is positivity and resilience in the face of these challenges.
“The first few videos that I’ve made are to answer questions I had when I was first going into treatment that I was maybe to scared to ask.”
He added: “Showing what it’s actually like might help some people.”
Image source, Paolo Lizzeri
In the videos Paolo talks about the things that worried him the first time he had cancer, including hair loss
The “failed medical student”, who dropped his plans to become a doctor and went on to study engineering, has drawn both on his technical knowledge and three years of avid YouTube watching during his illnesses.
He has created a funny and upbeat format to explain what happens after diagnosis, including hair loss, scanning techniques, chemotherapy and mental health.
Through it he hopes to alleviate some of the stress involved with being diagnosed with cancer, especially for younger people.
Now on his third encounter with the cancer of the lymphatic system, he feels able to unpack each step of the process for viewers as he goes through a familiar journey.
“Given the last six years of treatment, I’ve spent a lot of time in bed, a lot of time in hospital and I watched during that time a hell of a lot of YouTube,” Paolo said.
“I thought a good way to use my experience would be to make a channel and try and share my experience, and maybe help others that are in the same position and want to know a bit more behind the curtain.
“It takes me eight to 10 hours to edit each one, but I’ve got loads of time on my hands at the moment,” he jokes.
But he adds: “I’m positive and upbeat on the surface, but I guess like a swan swimming on the lake it looks really smooth on the top, but probably in the background there’s buildings collapsing in the back of my brain at the moment.”
In a video about chemotherapy, he takes his Ducati motorbike to the Beatson cancer centre in Glasgow and – armed with his mobile phone and a £20 ring light – talks viewers through the treatment experience.
Between naps he films nurses carrying out check ups and shows the chemotherapy drugs being administered while he sits propped up in a hospital bed.
Interspersed with humorous asides clipped from films and TV shows, Paulo chats to the camera and records interactions with staff at the specialist cancer unit, telling viewers: “It’s not that bad.”
Image source, Paolo Lizzerri
Paolo filmed on his birthday to show the side effects of the chemotherapy drugs
The follow-up video is filmed on his birthday a few days later, mostly from his bed. He describes what the chemo drugs are doing to his body and what it feels like.
“All my energy has been well and truly sucked out of me like I’ve been kissed by a dementor,” Paolo says referring to the soul-consuming wraiths in the Harry Potter stories.
He then tells viewers how red blood cells are lowered by the medicine.
Paolo found out he had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for the first time in 2017 and his treatment started a week later.
After six months of chemotherapy he was given the all clear.
But as the country was going into Covid lockdown in 2020 the cancer returned.
‘The staff are like angels from heaven’
His stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma needed “more heavy duty” chemotherapy that required him to stay in hospital for four days at a time.
This was followed by a month in isolation while he had a stem cell transplant.
Paolo was living in Elgin and working as a business improvement leader for whisky company Chivas Brothers when he received his latest diagnosis.
He moved back in with his parents in Glasgow – his “main caregivers” – so he could get his treatment at the Beatson again.
After one round of chemotherapy he is now preparing for a new immunotherapy treatment before donor stem cell treatment.
He hopes to explain and demystify each stage of the treatment in his videos and help other patients dealing with the mental and physical challenges of cancer.
Paolo describes his own support network of family and friends as “fantastic”.
“I really couldn’t ask for more – I’m very fortunate that way,” he said.
In the long term he hopes to monetise his YouTube channel to raise funds for the Beatson and create content explaining the work they do.
“The Beatson is the best,” he said. “If you have cancer it’s the place to be. The staff are like angels from heaven.”
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