A NORTH EAST dad who was delivered the heartbreaking news that his cancer is incurable has vowed to take on the Great North Run.
Dad-of-three, Chris Johnson will take part in Sunday's run where he hopes to raise thousands of pounds for cancer charity, Children With Cancer UK.
Mr Johnson, husband to Lucy, and dad to Luke, nine, Molly, seven, and Nancy, five, was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumour in his small bowel in December 2019.
Read more: Darlington Navy veteran tackles Great North Run for NHS after Covid
Despite being removed in January last year, the 42-year-old surveyor, who lives in High Barnes in Sunderland, was told his cancer had spread and his condition was terminal.
But vowing to raise money for the charity, Mr Johnson set up a fundraiser earlier this year, which has so far attracted thousands in donations.
It has seen more than £14,000 raised, beating his original target by a staggering 118 percent in just several months.
Read more: Dad's appearance on BBC News sees £2,000 donated by viewers in just minutes
Speaking to The Northern Echo, he said: "Originally I had a 'gist' tumour – a rare tumour for someone who is my age. It's effectively a tumour in my small bowel and the symptoms are very similar to bowel cancer.
"Over the course of a few weeks, I noticed myself getting more and more tired and after several months of tests, we discovered I had this tumour that was eating away at my small bowel causing a bleed."
Mr Johnson, who had this tumour removed while at Sunderland Royal Hospital, was told it had spread to his liver during a routine scan just months later.
He added: "My treatment went from being preventative to stabilising the condition."
Explaining that he had chosen to raise money for a children's cancer charity after going through tests and treatments himself, he had pledged to raise as much as he could.
Exceeding his original target of £3,000, Mr Johnson has since raised more than £14,000 online after completing a number of challenges, including Scafell Pike in the Lakes.
He said: "At the beginning of the year, I started to run and quickly decided I wanted to put this to good use – and wanted to raise money for a cancer charity.
"It broke my heart at the thought of children not getting the chance to grow up."
And after months of training and preparation, he will now take on the 13.1 mile Great North Run where he hopes to raise that figure by even more.
He said: "I'm not going to break any records, I'll get around – I'm not going to be the first, but I'm just looking forward to the day."
Praising those who had donated so far including close friends and family members, Mr Johnson added that he had plans to take on the London Marathon later this year.
Mr Johnson has set up a Twitter account @gotthegistofit where he has been sharing his challenges and fundraising progress updates.
To view the fundraiser - click here
To follow Mr Johnson's progress on Twitter - click here
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