Lincoln musician beats cancer and releases song to inspire others

A Lincoln musician’s song about defying the odds to beat cancer has been picked up by a major US marketing company.

Dave Bell, 32, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in 2003. After getting the all-clear he set out to inspire others.

Dave went to music college in Lincoln. He has been playing in bands in the city and at the Alive Church ever since.

He is also the lead singer in the band The Moment. He wrote a song last year called ‘Living Life Out Loud’ about his experience of second chances, beating the odds and living life to the full.

The song has now been picked up by US Digital Marketing & Investment group Blueprint.

It will be released on April 25, 2019 and is available to pre-order now on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

Dave Bell hopes to inspire others with his song.

The diagnosis

In early 2003 Dave was taken ill at age 16 and his mum took him to the doctor. Some weeks later the diagnosis was confirmed – he had a very rare and aggressive cancer attacking the back of his right eye.

It is so rare that only three in a million people are likely to contract it.

Dave said: “At first my life was rocked. I was 16, and like most 16-year-old boys I thought I was invincible, but suddenly I was confronted with the biggest battle of my life.”

Dave Bell and his family.

Getting the all clear

Dave relied on faith to battle death and the threat of infertility.

He had to undergo six months of intense chemotherapy. He also had 25 sessions of intense radiotherapy and the outlook initially looked bleak.

Dave chose to hold onto his faith and believe that he would make it through.

In December 2003, Dave was given his all-clear from cancer. However, he was still faced with the fact he may not be able to ever have children naturally.

He married his wife Sarah in the summer of 2007 and two years later their first child was born. Dave and Sarah now have three children – Jackson, Levi and a little girl called Mayah.

Shortly after the birth of Mayah Dave met with successful song writer Chris Eaton and ‘Life Out Loud’ was born.

‘Life Out Loud’

During a holiday in America in 2018 Dave and Sarah went to watch a film called “I Can Only Imagine’ about singer Bart Millard’s broken family relationships.

The film and its message inspired Dave to go ahead and record his song ‘Life Out Loud’. He sent it to a contact in America where it was immediately picked up by Blueprint.

Dave said: “My experience gave me a brand new perspective on life. How awful it would be to get to old age and look back and think ‘if only’.

“If only I had made the most of that opportunity, if only I had told that person I loved them, if only I had mended that broken relationship, if only I had taken that risk.

“And I think that is true for all of us. ‘Life out Loud’ is a hope-filled call to everyone to turn up to the volume on their life and live it loud.”

Dave was also a lead singer at the free Greatest Showman inspired Christmas show held at Alive Church on Newland in December 2018.

He added: “I have been given a second chance so I am determined to make every second count.

“My prayer is that this song will bring hope to anyone in a hopeless situation, and encourage all of us to take that extra step – to do the things we have only dreamed of”.