AFTER surviving bone cancer six years ago, a Chelmsford man is set to run a half marathon.

Tom Sheffle, 30, will run the Royal Parks half marathon to raise money for a charity which supported him during his battle.

Tom, a teacher at Monteagle Primary School in Dagenham, has always been physically active but since his all clear he has found a new affinity for taking on challenges and raising as much money as possible for the Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT), who helped Tom through cancer.

Tom said: “I was diagnosed with bone cancer in the summer of 2010. I was just about to fly out to Indonesia for the second summer in a row with one of my best friends, when some scans revealed something more sinister was going on than all the doctors had initially anticipated.

“This will be my fifth Royal Parks Half Marathon and I have completed approximately 20 or so official half marathons since my ‘cancer all clear’.

“I have also completed seven marathons and in 2016 I completed an Ironman. This September I am going to hopefully complete in the Wales Ironman.”

Tom has already raised £10,000 for the BCRT since receiving the all clear and has set himself some huge fundraising challenges in 2018, with an aim to raise both money and awareness. With many events in the pipeline, managing his training will be key.

Tom added: “Having just trained for and completed two back to back marathons I feel my training has been going really well. I took a few weeks off after London and am now back training again. What with a busy work schedule, my family and trying to swim and cycle, I think I am doing pretty much as much as I physically can.”

Tom has come a long way since his diagnosis. He said: “My entire treatment plan lasted for approximately 14 months. I had six initial cycles of three weekly chemotherapy at UCLH in London.

“These were very strong and caused some quite severe side effects throughout each cycle. I suffered with neutropenia and mucositis with each cycle of treatment. After the initial six chemotherapy blasts, I had a three-rib resection surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital. I contracted a nasty infection after this and so had to wait a period of time after the surgery before I could begin the final stage of treatment. My last step was eight more cycles of chemotherapy.”

To support Tom’s fundraising efforts, visit http://www.justgiving.com/tomisturning30?utm_id=26