Armadale man Sean Tucker, 20, has battled cancer head on and won and now wants to inspire others with his participation in the Ride to Conquer Cancer event later this year.
Mr Tucker was diagnosed with stage three Non Hodgkin Lymphoma – Burkitt’s at the age of 13.
After being taken to hospital he required immediate emergency surgery and was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant where he was placed in intensive care following the surgery.
He began a series of chemotherapy treatments, which took a major toll on his body but was enough to place him in remission.
For a few years things began to slowly get back on track for Mr Tucker until May last year when he was rushed to hospital with severe abdominal pains.
He then had to have an emergency bowel resection but due to the chemotherapy treatments his organs had been severely affected and doctors told him it was something he would have to live with until he recovered fully.
He said throughout his life he always made sure he looked on the bright side.
“When I went into hospital it was pretty bad, they said to my dad that they’d brought me in too late and that I probably wasn’t going to pull through,” he said.
“I’ve been through quite a lot of adversity in life and I’ve made sure they haven’t impacted on my life or my lifestyle.
“I’ve always tried to find the positive in everything.
“I was given a second chance for a reason and I’ve really tried to put that to good use and try to give something back and inspire others.”
The Ride to Conquer Cancer will be held on October 21 and 22 and sees participants ride 200-kilometres from Perth to the Peel region and back.
He said when he found out about the ride he had to be a part of it and this year will be his second year participating.
“The ride was something I saw where I could give something back and that I saw people could draw inspiration from,” he said.
“I picked up a bike and picked up a helmet and started riding.
“The biggest thing I took from the ride was I wasn’t going to let cancer beat me, I wasn’t going to let the side effects beat me.
“I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else that I could still do the same normal things that every one else can do on this planet.”
Mr Tucker was on the hunt for donations for his ride.
To donate visit pr17.conquercancer.org.au and search for Sean Tucker on the donate page.
