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Teenager who fought childhood cancer is now running for charity

Katie Bowie
Katie Bowie

A Moray teenager who overcame childhood cancer is preparing for a charity challenge to raise funds to fight the disease.

Katie Bowie was six when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and needed immediate chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Now aged 15, the Forres Academy pupil still has to go for regular hospital checks to make sure the condition is being kept at bay.

Next month, she will raise money for Cancer Research UK and send a message of hope to other sufferers by running the Race For Life at Bught Park in Inverness.

She said: “This is our way of saying that although cancer has affected our family, we won’t let it beat us.

“It was a difficult time and even though I was little I do remember bits about it.

“When I look at pictures of myself when I was ill, it does bring it home just how lucky I’ve been.”

The teenager will be joined on the run by her mum Kim, 36, who supported Katie through her treatment and shaved off her own hair in solidarity when her daughter began losing hers.

It was in October 2007 that the mum-of-six first noticed a lump on the right side of Katie’s neck, and was stunned when a biopsy confirmed it was cancerous.

Katie was admitted to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital before Christmas and treated for four months, at first having intense chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy.

Mrs Bowie said: “I just couldn’t take it in, getting news that my first-born child had cancer was devastating.

“Katie’s always been a wee bright spark and even though she was young, she understood a lot of what was going on.

“When we were told she’d lose her hair, I decided to shave mine off too so she could see that mummy would be the same as her.

“The treatment was hard on such a little one, but Katie was amazing.”

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

It occurs when blood cells called lymphocytes become abnormal and affect the lymphatic system, which is vital for the body’s immunity against disease.

Thousands are expected to take part in the Race for Life on Sunday, May 22, and Katie is fundraising at www.justgiving.com/TeamDave16.