Andrew's a winner in the long run!

ANDREW SHIPPEY knew something was wrong when an elbow in the ribs during a game of football left him writhing on the ground in agony.

It wasn't a particularly harsh knock, and 18-year-old Andrew knew it shouldn't have floored him in the way it did. That was also the opinion of the ambulancemen who arrived at the scene, and immediately rushed him to hospital.

The irony was that Andrew was due to go into hospital two days later for an operation to remove a lump he'd found on his chest.

Andrew, of Otley, a first-year marketing student at Derby University at the time, was also feeling unusually tired all the time before he found the lump, so doctors decided to book him in for an operation.

But, after he collapsed on the football field, two days of tests revealed that his condition was much worse than originally feared - the diagnosis was he had testicular cancer with only a 50 per cent chance of recovery.

Says Andrew: "My mum and dad came into the hospital and we were all told together I had cancer.

"The first thought I had was, why me? What have I done? I almost thought 'God I'm dead already'.

"But then I thought, right, I've got two choices here. I can either feel sorry for myself or I can get on with it, and after a good think, I thought it was better to get on and get the best out of the situation."

Within days of arriving in hospital, Andrew was moved from Leeds General Infirmary to Cookridge Hospital where he began a five-day chemotherapy session. Deteriorating rapidly, doctors decided to send him for a high-dose session of chemotherapy at the infirmary.

For the little he remembers of it, it was a terrible two weeks for Andrew. To help him through the treatment, he was put on a life support machine in the intensive care unit. At one point, he had 17 drips feeding liquids in and out of his body.

"It was the one time throughout the treatment that I was really shaken. I thought to myself, I'm not an invincible person. The support and care of the hospital staff really helped me through then. The nurses would sit in my room if there was a problem or watch TV with me - they really made it more bearable."

After more lower doses of chemotherapy - five months after his first diagnosis - Andrew had major surgery to remove the tumour, which had worked its way behind his stomach.

At first doctors weren't sure whether the operation had been a success and whether the tumour had gone away completely. But Andrew was determined to carry on regardless, and the day after surgery was sitting up in bed. Within weeks he had managed to walk the length of the ward.

And tests soon revealed that the surgery had been successful, and doctors were able to tell Andrew the cancer had, for the time being, gone away.

"I could have kissed the doctor," he remembers.

"I was at one of the clinics at the time I was told, so I knew I couldn't run out and shout and scream because there were other patients waiting and I know how I'd feel if I was faced with the same thing.

"Needless to say my relatives were in floods of tears when I told them. It was a fantastic day."

To recover from his ordeal, Andrew had had to take a year off from university, and soon formed an idea of what he could do to fill in the time he had to recuperate.

Rather than take life a little easier in the time he had to recuperate, Andrew had completely different ideas.

An active, sporty person before his illness, Andrew had always harboured dreams of running the London Marathon - what better time to do it then when he had time on his hands? And even better, by running the race, he could raise money for the Imperial Cancer Research Campaign and give something back to the experts who'd helped him through one of the most difficult times of his life.

Painstakingly, Andrew got himself back on his feet to the extent that, by the Boxing Day after his operation in September, he was back out on the football field enjoying a game of soccer.

Training every day, he was soon running long distances, sometimes for hours at a time, in the months and weeks running up to the big race last April.

"It was hard work, but I was determined to do it," remembers Andrew.

"After the operation, I just felt I'd been given a new lease of life and a new way of looking at things. I didn't want to sit around and do nothing, I was determined to get something positive out of the whole ordeal, and running to raise money was one of the ways I felt I could do that."

Andrew went on to complete the 26-mile marathon in just over five hours.

"I was the proudest person running that race," he remembers.

"It was a fantastic challenge for me and a great opportunity to give something back to an organisation that saved my life."

Since then, he's gone on to complete the Great North Run last October, and this year plans to run the London Marathon for the second time.

Andrew's running efforts, together with his family's fundraising, have so far amassed more than £14,000 for the cancer charity. And Andrew's recently been helped by a mystery benefactor, who was so touched by his spirited recovery and plucky attitude that she dropped a cheque for £10,000 through the door of his Otley home.

"Saying a big thank you just doesn't seem enough. I'm so grateful to whoever this person is."

Now Andrew has to give blood tests every two months and undergo brain scans twice a year, so doctors can keep checking that the cancer has gone away. "I'm thankful that it now seems to be over," he says.

"I'd say to other people facing the same situation to just keep as positive as you can - keep on smiling. Things are going to knock you down but you have to pick yourself up again.

"It's important not to lose sight of your old self - go out to the pub and out with your mates, whatever you can do to keep yourself happy and you'll get through."

ANYONE wanting to sponsor Andrew for his London Marathon run should send cheques to: Yorkshire Bank Otley branch, the Andrew Shippey Marathon Account, number 173835.

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