PC using cancer as force for good
DETERMINED dad Simon Cutter embarked on a mammoth fundrasing campaign - less than 24 hours after being diagnosed with cancer.
At just 26 years old, the County Durham police officer found out on Tuesday that he has a rare form of cancer called Soft Tissue Sarcoma.
But the brave PC, husband to Emily and father to one-year-old Phoebe, said he “doesn’t mind one bit”.
“It gives me reason and motivation to raise money for a charity that I didn’t even know existed,” Simon explained.
Within 24 hours of his diagnosis, Simon set up a Gofundme page to raise money for the Sarcoma Charity.
The initial goal of £1,000 was exceeded within three hours.
And, two days on, the fundraising total yesterday stood at almost £4,000.
Simon also set up Facebook and Instagram pages to document his journey, which he is calling ‘Simon and the Sarcoma.’
He said: “If you can take something good from a bad situation, then it’s not a bad situation any more.
“I’ve spoken to so many people who had never heard of the Sarcoma Charity, but now they know all about it – and we’ve raised more than £3,000 for them. How can that be a bad situation?”
To raise further funds, Simon plans to undertake a number of tasks and challenges once he is fit and well, and is calling for his supporters to put forward their ideas for what those tasks should be.
He said: “I’m up for anything. The support I’ve had so far has been unbelievable, and I want to keep this momentum going, so that we can turn this really bad situation into a really, really good one.”
In one of the videos Simon has been uploading regularly to his Facebook page, he talks about his upcoming chemotherapy treatment.
“One thing I’m not looking forward to is losing my sense of taste – that will be massive. “I’ve noticed I’m also starting to lose weight, which is strange.
“I don’t know if that’s psychological or what, but I’m down to about 12 stone.”
Simon will be sharing his experiences online, and you can keep track of it all via his Facebook and Instagram pages.
To support Simon’s fundraising campaign, you can visit his Gofundme page at gofundme.com/simonandthesarcoma