At age 37, David Battersby was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer. Today, 20 years later, David is an amateur distance runner with two marathons and an ultra-marathon under his belt, and several other races on the horizon.
Milnthorpe-based David and his wife Rachel both accessed CancerCare’s services during David’s diagnosis and treatment. Rachel benefited from one-to-one counselling, while David accessed our complementary therapy services at our Kendal Centre, including aromatherapy and reflexology. He also joined our art group for a time.
David’s diagnosis on 10th November 2005 came as somewhat of a shock. He was fit and healthy — not yet a marathon runner, but an active man who prioritised his health and wellbeing.
“My symptoms included extreme tiredness; I could go for an afternoon nap and not feel any better,” said David. “I then started with gingivitis in my mouth before I found a lump in my groin. I went to the doctor who did some blood tests. I was then asked to go back to the hospital later that same day, where more bloods were taken. The following day I was diagnosed with leukaemia.”
David’s treatment began instantly. He was transferred to Manchester’s Christie Hospital where he was given a course of chemotherapy. After four weeks of treatment, David and his family were disheartened to learn that the drugs had no effect, meaning the type of leukaemia was classified as refractory, or incurable.
“The bone marrow biopsy revealed that the chemo hadn’t done anything at all; I was still 90% leukemic,” he said. “After the next round of chemo, the levels of leukaemia were down to 30%, the next month down to 10%, and the following month brought it down to just 3%. Then, after a week off the chemo to get my blood counts back up, I prepared for a bone marrow transplant which took place on 10th May 2006.”
During the duration of his treatment, David lived in an isolation room. People weren’t allowed into the room, and David wasn’t allowed out. Food was given to him through a hatch and his family were only allowed to see him sporadically while wearing gowns.
“There was only a 30% chance of finding a suitable matched unrelated donor and a 30% chance of the transplant working in the long-term,” David said. “Staying alive became my job. I was an inpatient at Christie’s for over 18 months, so getting well and learning how to live with cancer became my only focus. While it might be assumed that getting to the transplant date is the milestone, the real marathon began once I’d had my transplant. It took me around five years for my body to physically get over the impact of all this treatment.”
Prior to having cancer, David was moderately active. He enjoyed badminton and tennis and had always been slim. He began running, like many did, during the Coronavirus lockdown. He explains: “One day, I was on a walk and I decided to slowly jog home. The next day, I did the same. I really enjoyed it. I then bought my first pair of running shoes and everything has snowballed from there. I now run a lot; it helps me deal with my chronic fatigue, the most frustrating side effect of having cancer. I also use CBT methods to aid with this symptom.”
David ran the Windermere Marathon in 2024 and this April he ran the Manchester Marathon.
“Being in Manchester on the start line was so overwhelming and emotional,” he said.
David accessed The Christie’s complementary therapy unit and felt the services would be beneficial once he moved home, so he got in touch with CancerCare:
“Reflexology got me through the weeks while in hospital, and it was the one thing I could look forward to in between such gruelling treatment. I benefited from it both mentally and physically; I could cope with the pain and I found many of my symptoms just disappeared after each session. Being able to come to CancerCare once I was home really helped my recovery as I could keep adding pieces of the jigsaw together. Rachel found counselling very helpful as she was able to offload to a neutral party.”
David has recently competed in his first ultra-marathon, and his race schedule for 2026 is already filling up.
“I’m not sure where this love of running has come from,” he concluded. “But I amaze myself every time I go out and do something that I could have never dreamed of a few years ago.”