How A&T interview with Dire Straits star gave hope to cancer patient

A CANCER patient has told how an A&T interview with Dire Straits guitarist John Illsley helped take him from his lowest ebb to being filled with hope that he could survive the disease.

Philip Dinn (68), from Brockenhurst, was diagnosed in April 2017, and a few months later in August came across the article when his wife pointed it out to him.

In it the rock star, who owns the East End Arms pub near Lymington, talked about the “shock” of finding out about his leukaemia.

“I read it and went off to find my vinyl record collection and put on Brothers in Arms and I thought, this was going to be my battle cry,” said Mr Dinn.

“He’s going to be my brother in arms – he’s faced it and I will as well.

“It was a moment that switched from me literally putting my affairs in order to thinking that I knew there was a possibility of this cure.”

The title track, which Mr Dinn had not played for years, holds special memories as a favourite for him and his best man and climbing buddy, Ian Carpenter, who died 15 years ago in a motorbike accident.

“It was hope,” he said. “It was the bit in the middle of the song – the idea that I was not alone. That’s the key to it, I no longer felt alone – there was someone I knew of and enjoyed listening to from way back.”

Mr Dinn was suffering from blood cancer myelodysplasia, which carries a high risk of developing into the leukaemia that Mr Illsley (69) was diagnosed with in 1999.

In the interview, Mr Illsley told the A&T: “It’s interesting being diagnosed with anything that’s potentially fatal, even just to take that on board. It makes you reflect quite deeply on a lot of things.”

The musician was put on the road to recovery when his sister turned out to be a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant.

When the A&T contacted the double-platinum record holder – who also counts a Live Aid performance and Ivor Novello Award among his achievements – he said he was delighted his music was such a favourite and sent Mr Dinn his best wishes.

Mr Illsley said: “These moments are always a bit tenuous as it’s a leap into the unknown when you have no options left.

“Will you please send him my best regards and good luck for the future. Life takes on a more precious nature after these kind of experiences – pleased he likes the music too!”

Mr Dinn discovered his illness in an urgent message from his GP after a routine pre-diabetes blood test. He spent about a year waiting anxiously for his own bone marrow donor, during which he had to undergo chemotherapy to keep the cancer at bay.

“I was feeling very down. I was given the ‘you’re going to be dead in a couple of months unless you can get this done’,” he said.

But after his “switch” moment with Brother in Arms, he went on to raise £1,000 for the blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan – which eventually found a match for his own life-saving transplant.

“It was a great relief,” he said. “But I had got myself into a state of mind where I knew it would be okay. There was fear but not one I dwelt on. I felt it would be a good outcome.”

He was discharged from Southampton General Hospital in November last year and on 7th January was inducted as president of the New Forest Rotary Club to finish the 12 months he had to finish early due to his health in 2017. He also sings weekly with the Wessex Cancer Trust choir in Totton.

Mr Dinn’s story took another twist when his email was hacked, sending out scores of false messages that he had moved to the Philippines. It was the nudge that helped him contact people he hadn’t spoken to in years and tell them about his experience.

He’s not allowed to know the identity of his donor until two years after the transplant, he said, but he does want to meet up, if the anonymous 23-year-old agrees.

“I will say a big thank you, though I am not sure how I will say it,” he said. “It’s not changed my opinion of young people – I have always had a positive view of them anyway – but it made me realise that there are people who get vilified in the national press, like the ‘snowflake generation’.

“That suggests the younger generation are a waste of space – but if anyone says that to me now, they get a bit of an earful!”

He has just as much gratitude for the NHS team which helped him get over the disease, for which he has been told he will never get a complete all-clear.

He now plans to complete one of the Walk for Hope courses in the New Forest on 9th June in aid of Wessex Cancer Trust.

Mr Dinn, a retired acoustic consultant, is 69 in April and has tickets to see Mr Illsley play and answer questions at The Concorde in Eastleigh on Thursday 21st March.