The fall of 2009 should have been one of the most exciting times ever for Craig Forbes, then a Senior Logistics Manager for GE Oil & Gas in Aberdeen, Scotland. But his joy at finding out his wife was pregnant with their first child was overshadowed by a mysterious illness he couldn’t shake. Over the next year, Craig would find himself in a fight for a diagnosis — and ultimately, his life.
“It was a long, drawn-out process for me to receive an actual diagnosis,” Craig says. “It started in November, and it wasn’t until the end of February or March that my physicians were able to figure out where my symptoms were coming from. And while it was happening, of course, there’s the internet and sometimes that’s a bad thing. It can lead you in a really wrong direction.”
The trouble started while Craig was on a business trip to Angola. He developed a temperature so high that he lost consciousness several times. But Craig attributed the illness to a combination of anti-malarial tablets and a yellow fever vaccination he was required to get shortly before the trip, so he wasn’t immediately worried, and planned to follow up on symptoms when he returned home.
Following his business trip, Craig was hospitalized for 48 hours, with the immediate hospital stay ruling out any common tropical disease. After subsequent consultant meetings, lymphadenopathy was also ruled out. Meanwhile, in early 2010, Craig’s symptoms grew alarmingly more severe, and began to include weight loss and itchy skin.
After months of tests, unanswered questions and grappling with mysterious symptoms — all while preparing for the new baby — Craig finally had a biopsy and underwent an abdominal scan on a GE HealthCare PET/CT machine. That’s when he and his wife, Joanna, received some crushing and unexpected news: Craig had Stage 4B Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
August 2010 during treatment
Roughly 8,500 to 9,000 people annually in the United States are diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the body’s immune system. Close to 90% of those diagnosed in the early stages of the disease survive, but by the time the cancer was found in Craig, it already had spread to his liver. Doctors reassured Craig his disease was still treatable, and he committed to maintaining a positive outlook.
“I knew there was a hard road ahead, but I also kept in mind that Hodgkin's Lymphoma is one of the more treatable cancers,” he says. “I was also lucky and grateful to be admitted to a clinical trial that really paid dividends considering my cancer was advanced.”
Craig was part of a trial for advanced stage Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, called RATHL or Response-Adjusted Therapy for Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma, which required ongoing imaging studies. After two ABVD chemotherapy cycles, he moved on to a more intense chemotherapy, called BEACOPP. In the midst of treatment, Craig and Joanna welcomed their son, Struan, who was born in July 2010. Craig finally finished cancer treatment in October 2010.
“A silver lining around my diagnosis and treatment was that I wasn’t working, so I was able to spend so much time with Struan when he was just a baby,” Craig says. “And more recently, following my recovery, we welcomed our twins after several IVF attempts, so now we're a family of five, and it's a great way to put a positive spin on my whole illness.”
By January 2011, Craig was ready to return to work while his healthcare team continued to monitor his progress as he underwent regular scans. It was during this time that Craig decided he wanted to work for GE HealthCare. Although he’d always enjoyed his job, he had not felt a meaningful connection to the oil and gas industry. With GE HealthCare, there was a very personal connection for Craig and the mission of creating a world where healthcare has no limits is something he feels passionate about.
“I remember going into the GE HealthCare machines for my scans and feeling comforted,” Craig says. “I didn’t quite understand how they worked, but I trusted the GE HealthCare brand given my experience with GE equipment. That saw me through the full treatment ordeal, and I definitely felt an affinity with the products.”
These days, Craig is incredibly grateful that his health scare is mostly behind him. He still has some lingering issues with his right foot due to the chemotherapy. But it hasn’t stopped him from coaching his kids’ soccer team, walking his two dogs daily and generally staying active. He continues to work in freight and logistics, helping with digital initiatives and strategies to optimize GE HealthCare’s logistics operation as the company continues to establish itself as an independent entity with its own culture and traditions following the spinoff.
“I’m proud that I’m working for a company that does a lot of good in the world and I just feel very lucky to be where I am, both personally and professionally,” he says.
