A De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) academic is running to raise money to fight bowel cancer, after finally getting the all-clear from the disease himself.
Paul Illingworth, Interim Head of School for Allied Health Sciences, was diagnosed with the condition in March 2005 at the age of 49 and spent the next year fighting the disease with surgery then chemotherapy.
Paul, a former nurse, has now – a decade later – been given the all-clear by doctors and to celebrate, has entered a half marathon to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK.
The 59-year-old said: “It’s the first real exercise I’ve done for eleven years. I used to be a keen runner before I was diagnosed. It’s the first time I have done sponsorship. I used to think I didn’t want the extra pressure when I ran but now I really want to do something, to help.”
Paul said he was told his cancer had gone into remission earlier this year.
He said: “It was amazing news. When I was originally diagnosed I didn’t expect it at all. I’d just had a bloated feeling after eating; that was it.
“But I got it checked and was told it was cancer. Hearing that and going through the chemotherapy and surgery left me physically and emotionally scarred but I wasn’t going to simply sit back and let it happen. We got it operated on that year and I don’t know if I’ve recovered, so to speak: I think I’ve adapted.
“Not long after I was diagnosed, my mother was, too. We both overcame it, though. She’s 89 now and going strong. The ten year mark just gave me that drive to get back into running.
“I’ve done some work on the cross trainer and am building my strength back up. I did the Great North Run before, I know what that feels like. I’ve just got to build it back up.”
He will take part in the Kenilworth Half Marathon, on Sunday 6 September.
To donate to Paul’s fundraising effort, visit www.justgiving.com/Paul-Illingworth5
Posted on Wednesday 2 September 2015