THREE Barnsley lads are set to take on a mammoth challenge in a bid to raise funds for their friend who was diagnosed with cancer last year.
James Brown, 37, of Carlton, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia on August 5 last year and has since undergone an array of treatment for the illness.
But at first he thought he had just been over training and decided to put off going to the doctor while he figured out exactly what was wrong.
He told the Chronicle: “I didn’t have any of the symptoms of leukaemia at all - it was very strange.
“I felt some weakness in my right leg whilst I was at cross fit and so I put off going to the doctor for quite a while.
“I ended up going for some blood tests and it flagged up that my white blood cell count was quite high.
“I had another test and then got a call about the results of the second test on a Sunday night asking if I could go into Barnsley Hospital on Monday morning.
“Straight away I thought that it was cancer.
“I went into Barnsley Hospital and they told me they thought it was leukaemia but I had to go home and wait for the results from Sheffield - it was horrible.
“It was confirmed on August 5.”
Since that day, James has undergone a whole host of treatments and is currently taking around 20 tablets every day.
The treatment included a stem cell transplant - an act that involves destroying any unhealthy blood cells and replacing them with stem cells removed from the blood or bone marrow.
He added: “It’s been up and down with the treatment.
“I was doing chemo until December.
“I had to have a stem cell transplant because of the aggressive form of leukaemia I had.
“Luckily they found a match with a Spanish lady and so I had to have four days of eight doses of radiotherapy to remove all the cells from the bone marrow.
“It all sounds really brutal talking about it, a bit barbaric.
“But it’s a case of recovering from there - I’ve got to have 12 months off.
“I’m now on 20 or more tablets a day.
“I’ve had some good news in the test results and there’s no more leukaemia in my body.
“Things are going in the right direction.”
James has had the full support of his friends and family - including his wife Jodie and two children, five-year-old Arthur and seven-year-old Bella.
And so many of his friends have been helping out with fundraising, in particular Sam Garforth who is set to run 50 miles around Dorothy Hyman on May 18 in a bid to raise money for Blood Cancer UK.
“I can’t believe that he’s going to do it,” James added.
“I’ve been going to Bull House Barbers for years where Sam works.
“They’re all great people.
“I’m not surprised that this is happening because they always want to help others.
“It’s so important to raise money for these types of charities.
“They rely on donations like this to help people in similar situations.”
Sam will be completing the fundraiser alongside Harry Braithwaite and Bailey Land.
He told the Chronicle: “I’ve been cutting James’ hair for the last few years.
“I’ve seen him fit and healthy.
“I didn’t see him for a while and then I heard about his diagnosis.
“I wanted to do something that would be a challenge for myself but that would also help other people.
“He told me that Blood Cancer UK had been a huge help and so I chose to raise money for them.
“There’s currently three of us doing the challenge but anyone is welcome to join us.”
To donate to the fundraiser, follow the link https://www.justgiving.com/page/sam-garforth-9?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
