For Deb Sayer, her black Labrador Tank gave her the reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other during treatment for stage 3 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Now, the 55-year-old from Seaton Sluice has completed her 100th parkrun alongside him.
Deb was diagnosed just days after she finished her teaching assistant job for the summer in 2024. Six rounds of chemotherapy finished on New Year's Eve that year, and she is now cancer free.
A milestone run
Deb completed the 100km Dog Walking Challenge to raise money for Blood Cancer UK, alongside Tank, who helped her through months of treatment. At the same time, she reached her 100th parkrun as part of the challenge.
"My story is pretty boring, it's not dramatic, I was diagnosed, treated and here I am the other side. Success stories were what I looked for when I was diagnosed, and I hope mine can now be one of them."
Diagnosis and treatment
She said: "I was in bed reading and touched my neck, as there was a lump there, and I'd been able to feel lymph nodes in my neck for years, so at first I just thought it was one of those. I remember the consultant walking down the corridor holding a booklet that said blood cancer."
"He was really positive though, and said, 'We're going to treat to cure. Six rounds of chemotherapy and that'll be it.' I just thought, 'Right, okay.' The chemotherapy was pretty gruelling, I lost my hair and I was sick after every round apart from one."
"Towards the end I became anxious because I knew how ill I was going to feel. When I finished treatment there wasn't a bell to ring, but if there had been I wouldn't have rung it. I just wanted to go home because I felt so ill."
Staying active with Tank
"I've been a runner for about 25 years. I didn't want to stop being active. On Wednesday mornings my running friends would head out and I'd take Tank and walk while they ran."
"Some of them even came to my chemotherapy sessions. They say it takes a village and I was surrounded. The first day I was on my own after chemotherapy I took Tank out for a walk."
"We live very close to the sea, and I'd barely got going before I started crying. I looked at him and thought, 'There's a reason to get outside.' All through chemotherapy we walked together. Slowly, just plodding around. That's why the 100km Dog Walking Challenge had our name all over it."
The 100km Dog Walking Challenge
The challenge saw Deb and Tank explore woodland around Morpeth, the Northumberland coastline and many of their favourite local walking routes, all for a good cause. Friends and family joined many of the walks, with Deb giving those who joined in a commemorative badge.
"I absolutely loved it. We'd go somewhere different almost every day. I bought little badges and gave them to everyone who joined us. They were from me and Tank."
A special parkrun at Ashington
"As a runner, reaching my 100th Parkrun felt really special. I love Parkrun because it's about so much more than running. It's a brilliant community. You see your friends, you have a coffee afterwards and everyone is welcome."
"Ashington Community Woodland was perfect because everyone spread out so quickly after the start. It felt like somewhere I could still safely be part of something. I've discovered you don't even have to run. There are so many ways to get involved."
Life after treatment
"People asked me if I had a bucket list after my diagnosis. I said, 'No. I was already doing what I love. Every morning my husband and I have a cup of tea and look out to sea. I love my house, I love my family and I just want to enjoy my simple life."
"My doctor said if it ever came back we'd treat it again to cure. I haven't come this far to stay in fight mode. I feel incredibly grateful to the doctors and nurses who looked after me."
"I'm grateful to everyone who went before me in clinical trials because they're the reason people like me have the treatments we have today. I didn't want to hear about people dying. I wanted reassurance."
"I wanted to hear from people who'd come through it. I hope someone who's just been diagnosed reads this and thinks, 'If she got through it, maybe I can too.'"
