Bowel cancer survivor overcomes treatment to run London Marathon

A man who struggled to walk after being treated for bowel cancer has trained to run for the London Marathon.

Damian Knowles, from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, only began training for the event in January as he was still recovering from chemotherapy.

The treatment caused nerve damage to his hands and feet, meaning it is now “extremely painful” to walk or run longer than about seven minutes.

He joked: “The intention is to run the marathon in six or seven minutes.”

The father of four explained that although the nerve damage could heal over time it was unlikely the pain in his right foot would improve.

In September 2023 the music producer had danced through a walking marathon wearing a heavy backpack and a tutu.

Days later he assumed the pain in his stomach was due to a pulled muscle.

But shortly after Christmas 2023 he was told he had colitis and sent for a colonoscopy the following February, when it was detected as stage three cancer.

He was set for an operation to remove the cancer in May but it was brought forward to April due to a cancellation.

“If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be here now because it would’ve become stage four,” he said.

Mr Knowles’ core took time to recover from the surgery. In hospital his wife Mikhaila joked that he could manage only 26 steps while London Marathon runners were achieving 26 miles the same weekend.

Although the chemotherapy treatment has left him with difficulties walking, the 44-year-old is grateful to be alive.

He paid tribute to the support of his family, which includes his uncle – television presenter Nick Knowles.

He laughed: “When I said I was going to do it in the first place, he said, ‘are you sure about that?’

“I’ll probably have one of his songs, and my father’s songs as well, in my ears just because we’re a close family.

“I’m trying to think about how because I also don’t want to switch off from what’s going on around me. I want to take that in as well. I think that’s a huge part of it.”

Mr Knowles is currently cancer free and hoping to raise money for Bowel Research UK, who he described as “unsung heroes”.

“What they do working in the background has given me a second shot of life,” he said.

“It’s given my wife her husband back. It’s given my kids their dad back.”