From one month to live to 100 miles on a bike: Cancer survivor’s charity cycle

A cancer survivor who was told he would die within the month just two years ago will be cycling 100 miles for St Barnabas Hospice.

Vitor Pinto first went to the doctors in April 2020, just after COVID-19 lockdown struck, after experiencing extreme pain that stopped him sleeping.

Results came back to reveal that he had stage four Hodgkin Lymphoma, an incurable form of cancer that starts in the body’s white blood cells.

As it is the highest stage of cancer someone can get, Vitor was told by a consultant that without immediate treatment he would die within a month.

He was offered aggressive treatment to tackle the disease, doubling his dose and somehow making it into remission by Christmas 2020.

Vitor said: “The pandemic was a hard year for everyone, but to be told I had this cancer and had to go through this as well was extremely hard.

“The NHS staff were under so much pressure, but I can’t praise them enough. They were so good from the nurses to the consultants.”

Fresh off the back of his miraculous recovery, Vitor will be taking part in the Castle to Coast to Castle on June 30 – a charity 100-mile bike ride from Lincoln to the coast and back to Lincoln again in just one day.

Vitor will do the C2C2C with 16 co-workers and customers from commercial interior design and fit out company APSS, one of the event’s sponsors.

The APSS crew will join more than 500 riders at the event, raising money for St Barnabas Hospice, EDAN Lincs, Headway Lincolnshire and Just Lincolnshire.

A fundraiser has been set up for Vitor’s efforts, which you can donate to on the JustGiving page here.

“Hodgkin Lymphoma is a form of cancer which is unfortunately not curable. It is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life, like many others,” Vitor said.

“Some, however, are not as fortunate as myself, and for those people, and their families, the work St Barnabas Hospice do is crucial. That’s just one of the reasons I will be raising money for the charity by completing the 100-mile bike ride.”

St Barnabas still have designated spaces for supporters to get on the bike and join in, simply by visiting the C2C2C website.

Caroline Swindin, Fundraising Development Manager for St Barnabas Hospice said: “Vitor’s story is truly amazing; taking on this challenge after what must have been, an incredibly difficult few years.

“On behalf of everyone at St Barnabas Hospice, I would like to say to huge thank you to Vitor for choosing to undertake the C2C2C challenge in support of our Hospice.

“Your support and the money you raise through your fundraising will make a huge difference to the lives of over 10,500 patients and their families our Hospice support each year across Lincolnshire.”