Harry Lehane

Harry's Brighton Marathon

Fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust
£1,325
raised of £1,000 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Brighton Marathon, 12 April 2014
Teenage Cancer Trust

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1062559
We provide expert care and support to young people with cancer

Story

Hello and welcome to my Just Giving page!

My name is Harry Lehane and I am running the Brighton Marathon in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust!

I would really appreciate it if you can donate all you can to this amazing charity that supported me all the way through my treatment and then eventually cured me of the awful disease that is cancer.

I can never thank them enough for what they have done for me and what they are still doing for me and young people alike so the only thing I can do is raise as much funds for them as I can so they can keep doing what they're doing and saving people's lives.

Below I have written a story about my life with cancer if you would like to read it and know what my experience of it was like but most importantly... DONATE!

I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in June 2011 where I underwent an operation to remove the tumour. I was told by doctors that they would've liked to have found the tumour earlier to avoid any further treatment but it was too late.

The cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes (immune system) and I had to have a few months of chemotherapy, which I started in September 2011.

I was out of action for the rest of that year and could barely move. During chemo, I was sentenced to being sick every day, bed bound for most of the time and having a couple of close calls with my life. I didn't know it could be possible to be that sick without dying and it's something I will always remember.

The biggest close call I had was when I woke up with a fever in bed and my temperature was dead on the limit for calling an ambulance and going into hospital. I felt fine at the time. Just hot. Even the doctors said I seemed fine so they said they will take my bloods, just in case, and then send me on my way. Well, the bloods came back and it turned out that I had not one SINGLE white blood cell running through my veins and that if I was to have come to the hospital the next day instead, I would have been dead.

It was at that point I realised how serious my cancer actually was.

So I finished chemo, had Christmas and had a crazy 21st birthday who many people will remember! I barely remember any of it. I was gutted I was out cold for the majority but friends and family advised me that that's what's supposed to happen on your 21st! So that was okay.

I finally thought it was all over and that I could get on with my life again. I was very wrong. I had a regular scan at the hospital and the doctors told me that the chemo wasn't as effective as they were expecting or hoping for. This meant I had to have a pretty major operation to remove the rest of the cancer along with 66 lymph nodes which I was told was the most they have ever removed in a human being. Still waiting for a Guinness World Record approval on that ;)

So the operation was a success and I spent about a week in hospital recovering and learning to walk again. (If you had all your organs taken out and then put back in again, you'll understand what I mean.)

So a couple of months passed and I was on my way to the hospital to get my final results to see if the surgeons removed all of my tumour.

THEY HAD AND I WAS CANCER FREE!!!

It was the best feeling of my life and it will be a moment I will never forget. I've got my war wounds to remind me of what I went through and how strong I came out the other end.

So I am running the Brighton Marathon in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust who treated me and saved my life. If it wasn't for them, I would not be alive today and I am truly grateful.

Please donate as much as you can to my Just Giving page where all the funds go directly to the TCT who fund research to cure ALL teenage and young people like me. They are an amazing charity and they really do care.

I am aiming for £1,000 as this is one of the biggest events there is for charity and you could be saving a young person's life.

No one deserves to die. Especially young people who haven't even lived a life themselves yet.

Thank you,

Harry.

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About the charity

Teenage Cancer Trust

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1062559
We are dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for young cancer patients aged 13-24. We fund and build specialist units in NHS hospitals and provide dedicated staff, bringing young people together so they can be treated by teenage cancer experts in the best place for them.

Donation summary

Total raised
£1,325.00
+ £302.50 Gift Aid
Online donations
£1,325.00
Offline donations
£0.00

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