WORKING out on a regular basis, dad Mark Potter was in the best shape of his life.
The 47-year-old was squatting 200kg and running six kilometres in around 30 minutes.
But in November 2021, as he was almost in fighting shape, Mark was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the stomach and bone.
Stomach cancer is fairly uncommon in the UK and it’s a cancer that can be found anywhere in the stomach.
Bone cancer is also rare and around 550 new cases of the illness are diagnosed each year.
The NHS can now only offer the family palliative care and Mark’s wife Hannah, 45, along with their family and friends, is now trying to raise £22,000 in a bid to save his life.
Read more on cancer
Mark said his lifestyle changed when he started to experience numbness in his calves, which he initially thought was the result of a pinched nerve due to his active lifestyle.
The numbness continued to spread and Mark visited his GP, who told him he may only have another 18 months to live.
Hannah said: “When they told us the diagnosis, I had a complete meltdown.
“He has tumours in his stomach that spread to his spine, which has caused the numbness.
“When they told us, you obviously hope for the best so I thought it might have been stage two.”
Hannah said that despite the diagnosis, the family are staying positive in the hope they can beat the illness.
Before becoming ill, Mark was working as a personal trainer and says he was ‘almost in fighting shape’.
Mark said: “I used to box, I has 26 professional fights and I won 21 of them in my day.
“I also did MMA fighting and kick-boxing.
“In November I was almost in fighting shape, I could run six kilometres in 30 minutes.
“I was squatting 200 kilos for six reps regularly, and deadlifting 200 for 10 reps.”
