I’ll keep going as long as my terminal cancer allows
A MAN who has been diagnosed with incurable cancer is spending the time he has left helping others.
Chris Johnson, 42, was initially told that he had a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour (GIST) in 2019, but found out a year later that his condition was terminal with it spreading to his liver.
GIST is an rare type of cancer that begins in a person’s digestive tract – also known as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract) – the path through which food passes.
Rather than being defeated, Chris decided to stare adversity in the face – spending the rest of his days raising money for Children with Cancer UK. The organisation is the leading children’s charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to the war on childhood cancer.
Their ideal vision is a world in which every child survives cancer – and they use donations from the general public to fund research, raise awareness and support families. Speaking to Chronicle Live, the Sunderland father-of-three spoke about living with cancer.
“So for just over a year I’ve been raising money for Children with Cancer UK,” Chris said, adding: “It’s a big one for me, I’ve got cancer.”
He continued: “I was diagnosed in 2019 and found out in 2020 that it’s incurable. I decided that I wanted to do something good with whatever time I’ve got left, so I started running and cycling, climbing, and doing all sorts to raise money.
“Here I am, I still feel fit and strong – so I’ll keep going as long as I can.”
Chris also spoke of the benefits it gives him personally to be engaging in hard exercise during treatments, doing wonders for his mindset and physical health. He added: “One of the significant things for me is that it helps with my treatment. The side effects for most cancer treatments are really rough and I’ve been lucky, it’s not too bad. If I feel fit and healthy then I’m happier, so I’ll keep doing the exercise, keep raising the money and it all helps.”
In 2021 alone, Chris ran the London Marathon as well as climbing Scafell Pike amongst other activities, raising in excess of £23,000 for the charity close to his heart. This year Chris plans to cycle the 137-mile Coast-to-coast route from Tynemouth to Whitehaven, compete in the Manchester Marathon, complete the Three Peaks challenge and do the Grand Tour of Skiddaw – a 44-mile run which includes the mountain itself.
So far, he has raised £2,361 but is aiming for a target of £10,000. His Coast-to-coast cycle was supposed to take place this week, however, due to his friend sustaining an injury he has had to postpone it for a couple of months, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing his bit in the meantime. He continued: “We’ve had to postpone that for a couple of months, but not to be put off I’ve been doing it in the gym. Just this morning I did the first 48 miles and then I’ll finish the rest off tomorrow and Friday.”
Chris is also an ambassador for the Sunderland City Runs which will be taking place over May 7 and 8, in which 5k, 10k and half-marathon events are taking place.
The two-day event is organised by Events of the North, Sunderland City Council, and its Active Sunderland team supported by Everyone Active. Each race itself will feature runners from all ages, backgrounds and abilities, and many will be raising funds for a cause of their choice. Speaking about the event, Chris said: “The course is great, hopefully we’ll get good weather and there’ll be plenty of people trying to do good things and have a good run.”
To donate to Chris’s cause, visit https://justgiving.com/fundraising/ gotthegistofit.