A 33-year-old dad-of-two from Newton Aycliffe is preparing to take part in the prestigious Ironman UK endurance event, just months after receiving treatment for a second brain tumour. Craig Johnston turned to fitness as a way of coping, following a devastating cancer diagnosis. The former quantity surveyor is raising vital funds for the charity Brain Tumour Research, as he trains for the famed triathlon competition.

Craig married Jilly in 2016 and together they have two children, Alistair (10) and Millie (3). Their lives were turned upside-down one night in June 2018, when Craig suffered a seizure while in bed.

He said: “I’ll always remember it was 24 June 2018, the day the England football team set new records in a 6-1 victory over Panama in the World Cup. I went to bed and that was my last night before becoming a ‘cancer patient’.

“The next thing I remember is waking up with my parents and two paramedics by my side, telling me I had suffered a seizure.”

Craig was taken to the Accident and Emergency Department at Darlington Memorial Hospital, where medics carried out an MRI scan. The results revealed a brain tumour and Craig was urgently referred to a specialist neurosurgeon. Ten days later he was in surgery at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough having a craniotomy.

Craig was the first person in the North East to be given a ‘Gliolan’ or ‘pink drink’, known as 5-ALA, prior to his surgery. The relatively new medicine helps identify brain tumours by causing them to glow pink under ultraviolet light. He was able to benefit from 5ALA after the NHS rolled it out as a part of their support for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM).

Craig recovered well from surgery. Shortly afterwards a biopsy confirmed the tumour was a grade 3 or 4 astrocytoma, meaning he would need further cancer treatment.

Following a gruelling course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, in January 2020, Craig started to focus on healthy eating and began going to the gym. As his fitness improved and he started to see results, Craig set himself the ambitious goal of making it to the start line of Ironman UK in Bolton in July 2021. But it hasn’t been plain sailing, as he received more bad news following a routine scan in July 2020.

He said: “The tumour was showing signs of regrowth and I was told I would need more surgery. It was a huge blow but I was more prepared for what was to come. This time, the risk of Covid meant I had to self-isolate for two weeks before I was admitted and for another two weeks once I was discharged.”

Around the time of his second surgery, Craig started documenting his journey via his YouTube channel ‘Craig’s Cancer to Kona Vlog’, his ultimate aim being to earn a place in the Ironman world championships at Kona in Hawaii. The main focus of the videos is exercise and training following a difficult diagnosis. Craig hopes to create a space where he can share what works for him and where subscribers can come for tips and inspiration.

Meanwhile he is now on another course of chemotherapy, all while continuing to train for the Ironman. Craig said: “The chemo is making me sicker this time and I’m having to sleep a lot but I am still managing to get out running and cycling quite a bit. I was due to run the York Marathon later this month but that event has been cancelled due to the pandemic. I’m still planning to run the distance on 18 October.”

As Craig plans to complete more and more events in the run-up to the Ironman, he has set up a fundraising page for Brain Tumour Research, with the initial goal of raising £2,740, which represents the amount it costs to fund a day of research at each of the charity’s Centres of Excellence. He said: “By being a ‘test case’ for the 5-ALA pink drink, I have personally benefited from research into brain tumours but I am fully aware that funding for research into this awful disease is severely lacking, especially when you consider that it kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.”

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Craig’s fundraising page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/briangotmelted