FROM being bed bound during cancer treatment to running a marathon - meet the man defying all odds.

Jack Goldring, 25, only got the all clear from cancer less than a year ago.

But now he is to run the Virgin Money London Marathon this Sunday to help raise vital funds for young people and children with cancer.

Jack, who lives in the Colchester area, had been going back and forth to the doctors for a year feeling unwell, but his symptoms were dismissed as flu and fevers.

After finding a lump under his arm, Jack was referred for a scan and biopsy that revealed he had cancerous stage three Hodgkin lymphoma. Jack said: “Everything inside me just sunk. I just couldn’t believe it,

“I thought ‘I’m a fit and healthy lad’ - I never expected it to be cancer.”

Jack had a mass by his armpit and another tumour behind his stomach.

He had 12 rounds of chemotherapy to treat the lymphomas, which would leave him bed bound for five days at a time after each session with severe sickness.

He said the toughest impact of his illness was the effect on his mental health and wellbeing.

He said: “Even though the physical side with all the sickness was horrible, the mental side of things was probably the hardest bit. My anxiety was through the roof.”

But Jack received emotional and financial support from the CLIC Sargent charity.

Jack said: “When I first met Glyn, my CLIC Sargent social worker, he set me up with a grant which helped me so much. I was able to pay off my debts I had built up since leaving work.

“Without that support I wouldn’t have been coping at all.

“Glyn was amazing with the mental health side of things too. I confided in him and he put my mind at ease about loads of stuff and encouraged me to talk.”

Glyn also set up a group for other young people with cancer like Jack in his area so they could meet up and talk. Jack said: “It’s been a massive help, we were just isolated in our rooms and feeling down.

“Talking to each other really helps and it’s good to know that we are there for each other.”

Jack had his last chemotherapy session in April last year and a PET scan showed he had the all clear a month later.

He said: “It was an amazing feeling to get the all clear, it was overwhelming.

“The relief was incredible and I just thought ‘it’s finally over’.

“We went for a celebratory breakfast and popped some champagne.

Since receiving his all clear, Jack, who has always loved fitness, travelled out to Thailand for sparring training and signed up to the London Marathon.

Jack said his training for the 26.2-mile race has been going really well and he has inspired others to take up physical activity.

“I’m really looking forward to the day and the whole experience and atmosphere. I have had so much support in my home town it has been unbelievable.

“Having cancer really changed my outlook on life – what was important before isn’t so important now.

“I feel more positive; I appreciate life and want to help other people.

“I have been rebuilding myself into the best version of me. I have proved to myself that mind over matter can make a difference.

“I love helping and inspiring others to make themselves feel better and that is what I will keep on doing.

“My new outlook on life is so refreshing for myself and I wake up every day and appreciate every tiny little thing that I would have normally taken for granted.

“What better way to give back to CLIC Sargent and others than to run the London Marathon.

“I just wanted to do something to raise some money for the charity and give to others needing the same support I did.”

Jade Clarke, Major Runs Project Manager at CLIC Sargent, said: “What Jack is doing is simply amazing. When cancer strikes young lives we fight tirelessly to limit the damage it causes beyond their health.

“We rely on donations to fund our vital work and so we can’t thank Jack enough for his incredible efforts. We’ll be there on the day cheering him all the way to the finish line!n To sponsor Jack visit

justgiving.com/fundraising/jack-goldringlondonmarathon2019clicsargent.