VCSIA Winner — Moby Wells
Hi! I’m Moby, a third-year undergraduate studying history, and I didn’t expect to be writing this. The first, and most obvious, reason for that is that I was shocked that anyone had nominated me, or why I had been nominated over the countless people I have worked alongside. The second is that the situation I am in now has changed dramatically in the past couple of months, but more on that later. In both reasons I am grateful.
What I am most proud of in my time at Cambridge has been helping to set up the Gonville and Caius Allotment Society. Allotments are a confluence of positivity: from the satisfaction of growing your own crops, the benefits given to the soil and insects, to the teamwork of those involved. Everyone involved has been a joy to get to know, from the committee (Dr Lisa Kattenberg, Dr Francesca de Domenico, Evan Thomas, Anya Williams, and Will Bajwa) to all those who came throughout the weeks. Thank you. The allotment has showcased the very best of Caius, demonstrating the beauty that emerges from experimentation, teamwork, and getting stuck in.
As Green Co-Opt on the GCSU, my biggest aim was to raise awareness about sustainability in a fun — and not annoying — way. I set up a successful scheme to reduce junk mail littering the pigeonholes by having people highlight their names. I designed recycling posters, but with the emphasis on what not to do: the existing recycling posters had overly simplistic information, but how many people knew that recycled goods had to be clean? And did you know that receipts are not recyclable?
However, there were projects I could not to finish. Thankfully, the new Green Officer, Clarissa Salmon, has already shown her enthusiasm, taking up my free-cycling idea and making it a reality. Similarly, I wanted to create a small pond in Harvey Court gardens to show how simple it is to increase biodiversity. Making a pond (any size!) is hugely beneficial to gardens, attracting a whole new host of life. While Green Co-Opt, I managed to get the
environment sub-committee to accept the idea, so all that needs now is the digging and the doing.
Life, however, got in the way. On the 5 th of March 2022 I went into hospital and, after countless blood tests and scans, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin Lymphoma. In a week my entire life changed radically. The day I went into hospital had also coincided with a litter pick I had organised for the afternoon. As I sat there in A&E I thought about how this other Moby, in a parallel universe, was happily picking litter unaware of the changes in his
body.
I am grateful for this nomination because it has given me a platform to raise awareness about cancer in young people. Cancer is not just for those who are old. Cancer isn’t just about lumps. Cancer can be sudden or slow, and it can be among the young. I went into the A&E room on the 5th feeling as though I didn’t belong: the cancer had manifested itself in subtle forms that could too easily have gone ignored.
In late 2021 I began to itch. Not unbearable, the kind of itchiness you may get after working out. Then in early 2022 I got a cough. Again, not of the debilitating kind. The kind that comes and goes and is easy to ignore because ‘I have too much work to do!’. Then I had night sweats. Night sweats are where you find yourself waking up drenched in your own sweat in an otherwise cool room. The only reason we took these seemingly disparate symptoms seriously was that my uncle, who had had non-Hodgkin Lymphoma when he was forty, had nightsweats too.
Since my diagnosis I have done what I can to raise awareness of cancer in young people. I have been posting life updates and information on my Instagram (@the_companion_planters). The idea of ‘companion planting’ is that certain plants thrive when paired with others. My mission is to do the same with cancer awareness: no one should be left in the dark about cancer. Within a week of the 5th I had done a short interview discussing my diagnosis which was posted on the Caius intranet. More recently, I wrote an
article for Varsity urging people to make the most of their time because the line between health and illness is a fragile one.
My fundraising has raised almost £1100 and has centred on the Teenage Cancer Trust, who are the largest charity dedicated to young adults facing cancer. They fund specialist cancer wards and fund the social workers who provide pastoral support. Cancer treatment is more than chemotherapy: it requires the care of the mind. There are so many small ways you can leave a mark. Act now. If you are passionate about something then do it and don’t delay. Cancer doesn’t wait, so why should you?