Girl rings bell ending cancer treatment after dad’s 980-mile charity bike ride
Nick Swan saw his daughter Isabel ring the bell to signal the end of her leukaemia treatment after he raised over £11,500 for CLIC Sargent.
A man who cycled 980 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats for a cancer charity has seen his daughter finish her leukaemia treatment.
Nick Swan, 39, from Bude in Cornwall, raised over £11,500 for CLIC Sargent cycling the Deloitte Ride Across Britain over a period of nine days from September 7.
Ten days after completing the ride, his daughter Isabel was able to ring a bell to signal the end of her treatment.
Announcing the news on Twitter, Mr Swan said: “Isabel got to ring the end of treatment bell today. Quite an emotional morning!”
Diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukaemia in May 2017, at three years old, Isabel began her chemotherapy at Bristol Children’s Hospital.
CLIC Sargent initially placed the family in a CLIC house so that they could be together, then assigned the family a nurse who visited their home, meaning Isabel would not have to travel to hospital every week.
Isabel’s treatment ended in September, just over two years after her initial diagnosis.
Mr Swan said: “I really loved doing the ride. The training was a big commitment leading up to it, but sticking to the suggested training plan definitely helped me get through the nine days.
“The camaraderie within the group of riders was amazing, and seeing England, Wales and Scotland by bike was something special.”
On September 25, 10 days after Mr Swan completed the cycling challenge, Isabel was able to ring the bell to signal the end of her treatment.
Mr Swan said: “CLIC Sargent have supported us throughout the two-and-a-half years of Isabel’s treatment and so it is great to be able to support them so they can help other families going through what we did.
“Our friends, family and community in Bude have been so supportive through Isabel’s treatment – we can’t thank them enough for their love and support.
“In the UK alone, 12 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer or leukaemia each day, so we will keep our effort up to fundraise and bring awareness to the symptoms of children’s cancer as early diagnosis is critical.”
