Back in 1995, David Rolfe was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. Two years after the diagnosis, when he truly believed that he was living on borrowed time, he decided to fulfill his lifelong ambition of opening up an antique shop. He named it Rolfey’s Antiques Shop and located it in Bath, Somerset.
“I have always been interested in antiques, collecting things and ‘junk’ and I wanted to end my days in an antique shop. I did not think I had much time left after contracting cancer. I have lived for about 20 years longer than I thought I would.” – Rolfe
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He started the business as a dying wish, assuming it would at least see him through his last days, but today he’s 65 years old, still alive and running it! Miraculously, after undergoing over two decades of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and medication, his doctors recently gave him the all-clear.
Over the past two decades, his hospital appointments changed from monthly to quarterly, to bi-annually and then to once a year. Recently, he stopped going to the hospital altogether and admits:
“You never know if it is completely gone, but leaving the hospital for my last bit of treatment around 20 years after I was diagnosed with it was a good and surreal feeling.”
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His shop is also still going strong, minus the minor setback that he is having to relocate due to rising business rates and changing shopping habits. He barely makes any money but that doesn’t matter to him. He says:
“It is a job that goes on for seven days a week. I would earn more washing dishes at a pub than from this, but I love what I do.”
Rolfe has no plans to retire and is now looking for a new premises. He says:
“My grandma used to have a stall at Birmingham market. From a young age I have been interested in this sort of thing. I remember getting started over two decades ago and I really got into it and thought, ‘this is for me’. I have never looked back. I could never have imagined that we would grow into being what we have become. The job is the best job in the world. I absolutely love it. I will not stop, I enjoy it too much. This is not the end for me, I want to carry on.”
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Some scientific studies have taken place that prove how negative energy feeds cancer cells. Maybe he became so happy fulfilling his dream that the opposite happened. His positive energy starved the cancer making it easier for the treatments to successfully eliminate the bad cells. This is only my theory. What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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