Father of Two to Tackle London Marathon Despite Incurable Cancer Diagnosis
A father of two is preparing to run the London Marathon eight years after receiving a devastating diagnosis of an aggressive and incurable blood cancer. Alastair Rigden, 53, from Essex, was told he had blastoid mantle cell lymphoma in 2018, but a stem cell donation from a teenage stranger has given him what he calls a "second chance at life."
A Sudden and Shocking Diagnosis
Alastair's cancer seemingly emerged without warning. In late 2017, he noticed a single hard but painless lump near his groin despite considering himself "very healthy for many years." His wife, Louise, urged him to visit a doctor, who delivered a chilling prognosis: "If you waited another six weeks... you would just not have woke up."
He received the official diagnosis in March 2018. "You sit there, everything stops and the word 'incurable' doesn't really leave you," Alastair recalled. A Macmillan nurse helped him and his wife understand their limited options, providing crucial support during those initial terrifying days.
Intensive Treatment and Family Adjustments
Doctors originally planned twelve cycles of chemotherapy but feared Alastair wouldn't survive that long, so they administered double doses across six cycles instead. Even during treatment, Alastair maintained his characteristic optimism, famously asking hospital staff if he could drink alcohol while attending an England versus Ireland rugby match on St Patrick's Day.
His treatment journey profoundly affected his entire family. His wife and two sons had to adjust their lives, reducing travel and isolating during lockdown periods. Alastair admits to feeling guilt about not being able to help his family as he once did, wondering if "the boys' lives would have been very different."
The Transplant That Changed Everything
After undergoing an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant followed by an Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant from an unrelated donor, Alastair's immune system essentially "rebooted." The donor was a 19-year-old woman from Southeast England, though Alastair has chosen not to know her identity to protect her from potential guilt if his condition worsened.
"You're lying in a hospital bed waiting to be told you've got a match," Alastair remembered emotionally. "You've got no guarantee. It's just a numbers game. Everyone needs to know every school, every university should put it in their starter pack, HR departments."
Running for a Cause and Facing an Uncertain Future
Now Alastair will run the London Marathon to raise money and awareness for Anthony Nolan, the charity that facilitated his transplant. He initially set a fundraising goal of £5,000 but has already tripled that amount. He'll be running alongside his friend and former boss, Scott, who challenged him to the marathon last summer.
"It's the reality of it all happening, and I was going to be able to give back," Alastair said about receiving confirmation he could run for the charity. "To get people to donate, you got to put yourself through a bit of hard graft."
Tragically, Alastair's cancer relapsed in October 2022. He's now on a different treatment plan with a checkup scan imminent, but his prognosis remains uncertain. "I might never get it again. I might know in two weeks it has come back worse than ever," he acknowledged.
Anthony Nolan facilitates approximately 1,200 stem cell transplants annually for UK patients and hundreds more internationally. Most donors undergo peripheral blood stem cell collection, a straightforward outpatient procedure with continuous support from the charity's team.
Alastair's eldest son has since joined the Anthony Nolan register, which accepts donors aged 16 to 30 (though registered donors can be called upon until age 61). Despite his uncertain future, Alastair remains focused on helping others: "I was lucky, they found me a match. It could have been very different."
