A YOUNG Cumbrian farmer who lost an arm to cancer is scaling new heights to say thank you to the charity which helped him during treatment.

James Addyman, 22, is taking on a 150ft abseil to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the charity which funds a unit at the north east hospital where he spent months receiving treatment.

James, from Asby, near Lamplugh, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of osteosarcoma – a type of bone cancer – last year.

He said: “I had been travelling and spent some time in Australia when the pain started in my right arm. I had some physiotherapy and then returned home to the UK when the pain started getting worse. An X-ray showed that something was not right in my shoulder and further tests revealed I had a tumour.”

After gruelling chemotherapy treatment which made James very ill, he learned he would have to lose an arm and shoulder joint.

He said: “I was absolutely mortified. But it had to happen. ‘Either your arm’s going to come off, or it [the cancer] is going to spread’. When you look at it like that, it’s one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.”

For six months James spent three weeks out of five on the Teenage Cancer Unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. “Having spent so much time in hospital it was really nice to have the support of the Teenage Cancer Trust nurse and youth support co-ordinator,” said James. “They are used to dealing with young people and really knew how to talk to people my age.”

During his time there James spent many hours in the trust’s recreational room which is a lounge/kitchen equipped with a TV, computer games and a jukebox - very different to a traditional hospital day room.

James explained: “Having the recreational room was brilliant as it meant that when I had visitors we had somewhere relaxing to sit together or even enjoy a meal together. It is also a fantastic place to meet other young people going through cancer treatment instead of just lying in your bed as there is nothing more depressing than that.”

James, who has been off treatment since January, has returned to playing rugby with Keswick and to working on the family farm.

He will be taking on the charity’s North East Abseil from the roof of the Sandman Signature Hotel, Newcastle, with his 17-year-old brother William this week. It is being held tomorrow (THURS) and Friday.

James - named Sporting Hero at The Cumberland News Community Heroes Awards in June - said: “There is not a lot I can’t do really, I just like to keep going as I was before my cancer diagnosis.”

Sonia Graham, regional fundraiser for the trust, said: “Right now, for every person we can support, there is another we are not reaching. We need supporters like James and William to help fund more specialist nurses.”