A Dudley man, whose cancer fight encourages thousands when it is broadcast across the region at the start of Race for Life events, dressed his coaches to attend an event himself.
Adrian Webb was given 12 months to live eight years ago after skin cancer spread to the lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, spine, and intestines.
But thanks to trial drug treatment, he was well enough to attend the event for the first time with the son and daughter he feared would never grow up.
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Josh and Amelia Webb were only 17 and 19 years old when Adrian was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2012.
The couple joined their mother and father in the Himley Hall Race for Life in Dudley on Sunday, September 26th.
Adrian’s voice was broadcast to attendees and will be played at numerous events in the Midlands in September and October.
“When I was told the cancer had spread, I didn’t know how to explain to my wife and children that I would never see my daughter walking down the aisle,” said Adrian, who is supposed to be his son Josh’s best man Wedding next July.
Brogan’s team
“I turned to my advisor and said, ‘You’re not going to let me die, are you? There is certainly hope somewhere. He offered me a study program with drugs and I took the chance. “
Adrian, who has just moved to Wombourne from Netherton, was first diagnosed in 2012 after his wife Michele saw a mole discolored in the middle of his back.
He had surgery and radiation, but it was too late. By 2013, the cancer had spread all over his body.
“I thought it was,” said Adrian, a manager at Headstock Distribution in Halesowen. “I cried like a baby, but in the end I thought – this is my life, I’ll live it.”
Brant Lees Warley, Jay Woodfield, Vicky Billingham, Geraldine Warley (from Brierley Hill), Julie Gibbs, Jeanette and Lucy Fraggley. Running for Geraldine who stopped chemotherapy for breast cancer last week.
Within a few weeks, Adrian started the first of three studies that included a cancer growth blocker and two new immunotherapy treatments to get his immune system to fight the cancer.
Adrian was told the best outcome he could hope for was that the treatments would buy him valuable time with his family.
“I would have done anything to buy myself this extra time,” said Adrian. “But incredibly, four years after I was told my cancer couldn’t be cured, I was cancer free.
“The treatments had side effects, for example I can no longer walk due to early onset arthritis. But I remain forever grateful for the treatment that saved my life. It’s entirely up to the people who generate the capital to fund cutting-edge research.
Tracey Mellor and her team ‘Pink Ladies’ from Dudley. Tracey had breast cancer six years ago and is fighting it again.
“Thanks to the participants in events like Race for Life, I was able to see my daughter at graduation, I will be my son’s best man and one day I will lead my daughter to the altar.”
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, which has been working with Tesco for 20 years, is a series of 3K, 5K, 10K, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events that raise millions of pounds each year, to fight cancer by funding important research.
Paula Young, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the West Midlands, said: “We are so grateful to Adrian and his family for their continued support.
“It was sad to see all 400 Race for Life events across the UK being canceled in 2020, but this final year proves more than any other the value of investing in science and medical research and what can be achieved through collaboration.
Faye Cox and daughter Lexi run for Faye’s father and Lexi’s grandfather
“Just as science is our way out of the pandemic, Adrian’s story shows that science is our way out of cancer. Race for Life is the perfect opportunity for people to run, walk or jog and raise funds for life-saving research. “
People can visit raceforlife.org to participate. The money raised will help scientists find new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer and save lives as the charity battles the effects of the pandemic.
Register now at raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.
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