Cancer survivor's 12-hour fitness challenge for Anthony Nolan

A cancer survivor who fought his way out of a four-year battle with a life-threatening form of blood cancer is embarking on a 12-hour fitness challenge to raise funds for Anthony Nolan.

On June 14, the day of his 78th birthday, Mike Collins, of Wooburn Green, will undertake a two-hour gym session followed by a 10-hour walk and cycle ride in a bid to raise £1,000 for the charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer.

Diagnosed in 2011, Mike’s cancer journey has been full of ups and downs. Chemotherapy worked but six injections a week burned his stomach for hours each time and he had lengthy spells in hospital. In 2014 he went into remission for nearly a year, only to suffer a setback from complete recovery when he wasn’t put forward for a bone marrow transplant.

Without the transplant, Mike’s life would have been limited. Luckily, his family found a willing specialist at King’s College Hospital, London.

There, he was successfully matched with a bone marrow donor from Poland through the Anthony Nolan register of matches.

The transplant procedure was fairly straightforward, but a devastating side effect, called graft-versus-host disease, left Mike with a skin condition that rendered him housebound.

“I was home for four months. I didn’t see anyone. I’m not normally like that but I got worried about going out and meeting people until my wife, Irene, pushed me back to the gym,” said Mike.

“Going in there at first was not easy, but after that initial visit I was fine.”

Prior to getting ill, Mike, a former cleaning business owner, occasionally worked-out at The Loft gym at Burnham Football Club and did martial arts to keep fit.

Now, he visits the gym every other day, under the guidance of trainer and owner Des Elliott.

“The gym has been his saviour,” said wife Irene, who also recovered from cancer a few years ago. “Des has been marvellous, very supportive with all the training and things like nutritional advice.”

Getting his health and fitness back is what inspired Mike towards this fundraising mission.

He said: “I’m coming up to 78 and I’ve been through the wars but when you sit back and think about all the treatment, all the money spent, you think you can’t abuse everything you’ve been given. That’s why I got back into training, got myself fit and made sure I was eating properly.

“I decided that I wanted to give something back for all the help I’ve had – and the gym the a perfect place.”

Initially, Mike and Des had mapped-out a 12-hour challenge that involved a workout in the gym followed by a 10-hour walk. However, lasting effects of chemotherapy put an end to the original plan.

Mike said: “I started going out on long walks but what I forgot was, I have to go out covered in all this cream because chemo thinned my skin and not only that, the first three toes on each foot are numb, because of the chemo.

“So I went to Des and said I needed to change my challenge a bit and he said ‘no problem’ and we added in the cycling.”

What’s keeping Mike going is a special bond that he shares with his grandchildren some of whom will be there in the last part of his challenge on June 14, plus the support from wife Irene.

“We’re both fighters and we don’t give up,” she said.

It’s important to both Mike and Irene that through this fundraiser, more awareness is raised for all types of blood cancer, and for the life-saving transplant procedure, which isn’t as scary as it sounds, said Mike.

He said: “People think that if you want to donate bone marrow you have to have an operation on your actual bone but it’s nothing like that. They take it from your blood. When I had my transplant it was like having a blood transfusion.

“I hope more people see what I’ve been through and learn more about it all and I hope they see what I’m doing and think that they can do some sort of exercise, even if it’s light exercise or walking. Positivity and determination will get you through it.”

To view the fundraiser, visit justgiving.com/page/michael-collins-1679145434050

More information on the charity's register can be found at:www.anthonynolan.org/help-save-a-life/join-stem-cell-register