An accountant has survived an 11-hour operation which doctors had warned him could end his life.
Jason Boas, 34, underwent complicated surgery on Saturday to remove a tumour from his pancreas. In last week’s JC, Mr Boas admitted: “I am petrified. I am scared to find out if the cancer has spread. It’s 50-50.”
His family had waited anxiously throughout the operation knowing there was a 15 per cent chance he would not come through it.
His father, Barry, said: “It was miraculous. The first thing he said when he came round and opened his eyes was: ‘Who won?’
“The nurses began to explain that the operation had been successful — but he quickly told them that he was actually talking about Arsenal, and whether they had won their last game.
“The surgeons managed to remove the whole tumour and all the tissue around it. They performed a biopsy on that tissue and found the cancer has not spread.”
Mr Boas, from Mill Hill, North London, was diagnosed six months ago. Doctors said the tumour would be inoperable as it was too big and sitting on the head of the pancreas as well as on the vein which enters the gut.
He underwent six months of intensive chemotherapy at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, during which time he lost two stones in weight and his hair thinned. But the treatment managed to shrink the tumour to an operable size.
During chemotherapy treatment, the member of Cockfosters and North Southgate synagogue set up the No Surrender charitable trust, to help others in the same situation.
So far he has raised around £75,000 and he has more fundraising events coming up, including a concert, a football tournament and a golf tournament.
Mr Boas, who works for music company Harris and Trotter, will undergo another two to three months of chemotherapy, in order to kill any remaining cancer cells, after which he is expected to make a full recovery.
His father added: “We are extremely relieved. We have been very fortunate. He was very positive all the way through and was determined it wouldn’t beat him.”
And to speed his recovery even further, he got the answer he wanted. Arsenal beat Reading 2-0.
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