From incurable diagnosis to Kilimanjaro summit - father with leukaemia pushes his body to new heights

When Mel Plumridge, 66, discovered he had leukaemia, he decided not to tell his three daughters - and didn't for four years.
In 2013, Mel was diagnosed with an incurable cancer called Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, also known as CLL. “I started looking like a hamster, as my lymph nodes were swelling in my neck,” says Mel, “my spleen started pushing on my internal organs. I felt pain each time I moved or coughed.”
“I was in complete shock, but I had two daughters at university and one doing her GCSE’s, and I didn’t want to disrupt their lives - there was no point in telling them I had cancer until I knew I needed treatment.” 
In 2017, Mel felt able to break the news to them. At that point, he knew exactly what treatment he would be needing, potential side effects etc.
He adds, “4 years after my diagnosis, I told my kids while I was training for a marathon, so they were genuinely surprised to hear I had cancer. They didn’t think I could be sick and still manage to run a marathon.” 
He says “staying calm really helped. If I had told them just after I was diagnosed, I would have been in pieces as I didn’t know what to expect back then and wouldn’t have been able to give them any answers.”
Mel joined the FLAIR study, which is a front line therapy for CLL, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. He was first introduced to FLAIR in a conversation with his haematologist. He then did further research himself to determine if clinical trials were a good option for him.
Mel describes how his involvement in research allowed him to meet a lot of different people, all who view their conditions and treatment plans in a different way. Mel encourages others to really understand what their options are when it comes to taking part in research. His experience has been "very positive" and he emphasises how he could have experienced "a lot more side effects" if he had gone down the standard treatment route.
Mel is telling his story to support the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Be Part of Research service.
The father of three is urging others to take part in research after volunteering himself.

Running for life
At first, Mel wasn’t coping well with his diagnosis. “At first I fell into a depression”, he says “but then I decided to do something about it, and to stop being negative.” 
That’s when Mel found exercise. He states, ‘I thought if I ever needed treatment for my cancer, then I wanted to be as physically strong as possible to be able to handle the potential side effects, such as fatigue. 
“So in 2013, I started ‘Couch to 5k’. Then I started working my way up to longer distances, and I would get into a meditative state. Running really did have the feel good factor.” 
“I’ve now completed 6 marathons, triathlons, and even climbed up Mount Kilimanjaro. I wanted to push the boundaries of getting my body to handle fatigue through exercise. When you have a life-limiting condition, you want to experience everything and enjoy what your body can do for you.”
He says, ‘I felt like a chemo fake as I had no side effects from the trial treatment, allowing me to live a totally normal life, even climbing Kilimanjaro at 62 years old.’
Be Part of Research is the first UK-wide volunteer registry providing opportunities to take part in research into all health conditions. It makes taking part in vital health and care research easier than ever before.