A Kippford man has cycled more than 300 miles for charity during a life or death battle with cancer.
Donald Reid was given just eight weeks to live in July after a surgical team at Dumfries Infirmary found a rare aggressive cancer in his abdomen.
Despite punishing chemotherapy he refused to give up and got on his bike for Cancer Research UK.
On Sunday Donald completed a 20-day 305-mile marathon accompanied by 15 riders from across the country.
And on October 10 he will pass another milestone when he marries Fiona Ramsay from Lodge of Kelton at Balmaghie Kirk.
Donald, 59, told the News: “I want to keep alive as long as I can. I might not make it but the chemo might check it and give me time.
“I am really determined to get a cure.
“ I am not going to lie down on a sofa and moan.
“All the cycling has cleared my head and made me mentally stronger. I’m finding that a positive attitude makes me feel a lot better.
“I am going to beat it.”
Former Royal Navy diving officer Donald went into hospital on July 15 for a routine appendix removal.
Instead, he was in theatre for five hours as surgeons uncovered the extent of the cancer.
The devastating diagnosis from an ashen-faced consultant gave Donald “a dark moment”.
Now he’s determined to survive 12 weeks of chemo to get potentially life-saving surgery at the end of the year.
Two teams of surgeons will undertake the radical procedure under a deal between the Scottish NHS and at Basingstoke hospital in Hampshire.
The nine-hour operation will involve the complete removal of all tissues and organs where cancer is evident.
Heated chemotherapy drugs will then put into the abdominal cavity to kill any remaining cancer cells.
“Only 20 men and 40 women in the UK get this PMP cancer each year,” Donald said.
“It is very hard to diagnose and unfortunately they did not catch it a wee bit earlier.
“It was an overwhelmingly dark moment getting the bad news at the beginning.
“But the incredible generosity and support I have received since then has been even more overwhelming.
“I have had people give me their last £5 when they couldn’t really afford it.
“That’s the sort of people you get round here.
“If I can inspire others to raise money and fight cancer then my job is done.
“With all the support from those around me and the power of prayer it’s all going in the right direction.”
Oil industry subsea consultant Donald, who is originally from Belfast, added: “I am hugely grateful to the NHS and to my local GP Alexander Morton.
“He is a fantastic man and has been the difference between success and failure without a doubt.
“He explains things to you in a palatable fashion in a way you can understand.”
To aid his fundraising drive Donald is raffling a gallon bottle of Islay whisky he won in a Dumfries Whisky Club Drambusters raffle ten years
ago.
Raffle tickets are available from Donald directly on 07790 762854 or the Anchor Hotel Kippford, priced £5 a strip.
Donald’s campaign had a target of £500 but has reached an incredible £8,000 so far.
To contribute visit https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ians-cycle-300-fundraising-page-171.
