Cancer survivor Freddie smashes fundraising target after Kilimanjaro trek

MADE IT!: Freddie Cole at the summit of Africa’s highest mountain. Picture credit: Freddie Cole

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

A cancer survivor who climbed Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the hospital where he was treated has smashed his fundraising target.

And now Freddie Cole, 27, has returned to the hospital to share details of his life-affirming adventure with staff.

Freddie, from South Cave, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Burkitts lymphoma – a rare cancer of both the bone marrow and the lymph system which affects just 210 people in the UK each year – in autumn 2022.

He was treated on Ward 33, the Teenage and Young Adult Unit at the Queen’s Centre at Castle Hill Hospital, which became his home for four months.

Despite numerous rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, multiple blood and platelet transfusions and even a bout of sepsis once he finally made it home after treatment, Freddie’s resolve, coupled with family support and great care from the unit, saw him through and he was given the all-clear last year.

He then set out to fundraise for both the Teenage Cancer Trust and WISHH, the Hull hospitals charity, as a way of saying thank you.

TALES TO TELL: Freddie shares some of his photographs with staff from Ward 33 and the Teenage and Young Adult Unit. Picture credit: NHS Humber Health Partnership

Determined to push himself to his limits, Freddie took on the challenge of trekking up Africa’s highest mounting, a six-day adventure that took him months to prepare for.

And after initially hoping to raise £10,000 Freddie’s efforts have now raised an incredible £47,000 for the two charities.

He said: “A few years before my diagnosis, I began to take an interest in hiking; a few friends and I would travel around the UK exploring and taking on some popular hiking trails.

“While I was in hospital, I decided that if I had a good result and a good recovery, once I was back to full strength, that I would do something to give back to the people that saved my life, and Kilimanjaro stood out as a good challenge to take on.

“The enormity of what I was doing really hit me when the summit was in sight, with one last push of half a kilometre to go. Being up there on the roof of Africa, the highest freestanding mountain and one of the tallest mountains in the world, was so surreal.

“This is the point I felt very overwhelmed, thinking about what I had just achieved, after making that promise and all the training, there had been no looking back and I’d reached my goal.”

PATIENT: Freddie spent months in hospital. Picture credit: Freddie Cole

Freddie, who works as an operations manager at Drewton’s farm shop near South Cave, added: “I’m very grateful to still be alive, and for the set-up of the NHS and everyone who works in it. If I might be having a bad day or I’m struggling for motivation to do something, I think back to what I’ve been through and soon turn myself around.”

Freddie said he he is now thinking of taking on another challenge, whether a marathon or another mountain trek.

Charlene Kent, youth support coordinator at the Teenage and Young Adult Unit, said: “One of the things that struck me about Freddie from the day that I met him was just how positive a person he is, and he’s carried that positivity with him throughout this cancer journey.

“Freddie has been blessed with a very loving and supportive family and circle of friends, and that does also make a huge difference.”

Dr James Bailey, a consultant in haematology who was the lead clinician looking after Freddie, said: “We’re all incredibly proud of how the team here has been able to support Freddie through his treatment and recovery, and proud of Freddie himself for what he’s been able to achieve.

“He’s a real inspiration to other young people, and it’s great to see him looking so well and planning more epic adventures.”