‘HOW SWIM HERO ADAM INSPIRED MY BATTLE WITH CANCER...’
Fitness fan headed to pool as diagnosis KO’D other sports
HEALTH BENEFITS:
A FITNESS fanatic who has been inspired by Staffordshire’s Olympic hero Adam Peaty has opened up about his cancer fight.
Steve Derry was told he had prostate cancer in 2018 and risked breaking his bones every time he ran.
It was heart-breaking news for the Uttoxeter dad-of-two who had run the London Marathon several times as well as being a keen cyclist, footballer and golfer.
Doctors told him he could no longer do anything that ‘caused impact’ – ruling out running, cycling and weightlifting.
Now Steve has taken up swimming in a bid to keep as fit and healthy as possible in the face of his cancer, and has opened up on how the multiple gold medal-winning hero has inspired him.
The 61-year-old said: “When I was diagnosed, the big shock was I couldn’t do anything that caused impact – I couldn’t go running, I couldn’t go biking, or do any weights. If you fracture a bone, you’re in all sorts of trouble with the cancer.
“So, my only go-to for sport was swimming. I’ve never been a great swimmer, but when I got my diagnosis, I knew it would be massively beneficial for me.
“Now, swimming is a huge part of my life. I think when you have cancer, you’re fighting for your life every day, and that sporting activity helps with the mental side. If I can swim, I know I’m fighting the cancer.
“I’m trying to swim about six times a week.
“Swimming has been great for me – the staff at Uttoxeter Leisure Centre are fantastic, and you see people of all ages swimming here every day, and they all have their own story.”
The Rolls-royce buyer – dad to Ashley, aged 33, and 27-yearold Zoe – has been inspired by his town’s Olympic hero, Adam Peaty, the breaststroke champion whose name is above the pool in which Steve swims.
He said: “When I was just diagnosed, it was dark days. I couldn’t swim before chemo, and I used to sit in the foyer of this pool and look at Adam Peaty’s picture and think, ‘How does someone from our hometown do this?’ I used to look at his picture and think, if he can do this, then I can try have a go in the pool and fight this awful disease.
“I took inspiration from having an Olympic champion from our hometown.
“When I was going through chemo, during my fourth treatment, I wrote to Adam.
It was a bit of an outpouring, almost a cry for help. I poured everything out to Adam about how inspirational he was, not just for younger people but also for me, what I was going through.
“He very kindly took time out of his diary to come to see me on the Sunday before my final chemo, which was amazing.
“Pools are just so important to all in the community. They help to fight obesity, they help with mental health, and they can help people going through whatever – cancer, for example. Swimming is a great way to cope with things, and for me it’s a great comfort blanket knowing that if I can swim, I can help fight the cancer.”
Pro-swimming group Swim England says there is a projected shortage of swimming pools in the Midlands. It has written an open letter to raise the issue with the Department of Health and Social Care.
A Swim England spokesman said: “Many others like Steve rely on access to pools – and regular visits translate into tangible economic benefits, with weekly swimming participation in England saving the NHS and our social care system more than £357 million a year.”
He added the group hopes to ‘build upon previous successes’ with Public Health England, such as ‘including the unique benefits of swimming into the Physical Activity Clinical Champions training curriculum.”
Swim England chief executive Jane Nickerson said: “It is imperative that people’s physical and mental wellbeing is prioritised, and swimming is one of the most productive ways that this can be supported.
“We all know swimming as a life skill and a great way to bring families and peers together, but especially coming out of an incredibly difficult 18 months with the pandemic, swimming can have a transformative impact on the nation’s mental and physical health.”
Steve is sharing his story as part of the Love Swimming campaign which is highlighting the benefits of swimming and encourage more people to try it.