A MAN who recovered from leukaemia is to run two marathons in a week to raise money for the charity that “saved his life ” with a wedding.

After having a tumour the size of a grapefruit cut away from his neck, construction foreman Luke James was given a 40 per cent chance of survival.

Luke was only 21 when he had to have 145 stitches and 25 staples in his jaw.

Luke, now 32, of Ruskin Road, Chadwell St Mary, said: “There was a point when I started losing the battle .

“I was only a year married. When your whole life is based around chemotherapy, blood tests and bad news, i t isn’t just you, it consumes everybody, and everybody is part of it.”

The turning point came after the Willow Foundation offered him a day to remember, when it gave him the idea to renew his wedding vows with his wife Kathryn, 33.

“What they do is unbelievable,” he said, “They saved my life to be honest. They just give you something else to think about – you are allowed to be a person again.”

He got the all-clear a few months later in September 2007. But six years on, doctorsfound two tumoursin his stomach. They removed the tumours, and they were found not to be cancerous .

Ignoring doctors’ advice to rest, Luke decided he wanted a new challenge .

He decided to take on a 26-mile marathon in April 2014, raising £2,000 for Willow.

Having made it through the first one, Luke has decided to take on two more in the same week this year – the Brighton and London events in April. This time he wants to raise £5,000.

To donate to Luke’s challenge, go to justgiving.com /2marathonchallenge