A plucky Dunfermline student who was told she would never be able to run long-distance races again after having half her stomach removed to fight cancer is preparing to run a half marathon.
Stacey McAully (22), from Dunfermline, was just 11 when she was diagnosed with Scotland’s first paediatric case of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GISTs), a rare form of cancer that usually affects the over-50s.
She was told she would never be able to run long distance again, after undergoing a series of gruelling operations in which a total of 13 tumours were removed from her body, along with half her stomach.
But now she is aiming to prove the experts wrong by completing the Edinburgh Half Marathon on May 26 with dad Brian.
The Edinburgh Napier University nursing student said: “When I was 14 or 15, I was on a really high dosage of chemotherapy tablets and during one of my appointments I mentioned just how tired I was all of the time. I was just sleeping, sick and sore.
“I had been planning to do Race for Life but never got to do it because I got a really bad chest infection and the doctor said: ‘Running’s absolutely not for you, you shouldn’t be doing any marathons or half-marathons’.
“I didn’t do much fundraising last year and decided to do something this year and I thought, why not do something someone told me I’d never be able to do.”
When diagnosed aged 11 with GISTs, Stacey was told the only way she could be saved was through intense surgery, as the cancer cannot be treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
At the age of 14, she told her doctor she wanted to do the Race For Life but they told her she would not be able to take part in any distance running.
Stacey still has two dormant tumours in her chest one in her oesophagus and another in the lungs and spends time going in and out of hospital for check-ups with oncologists.
The student, now in her final year of university, dedicates herself to fundraising for cancer charity Sarcoma UK, which conducts research into the rare form of cancer. She recently raised more than £4,000 by doing a charity skydive and is hoping for the same when it comes to the Edinburgh Half Marathon.
Stacey said: “We were talking about it at Christmas and jokingly said I should do the Edinburgh Marathon. My dad said if I did it, he’d do it and we signed up at the end of January.
“I have a GIST in my oesophagus and pulmonary chondromas in my lungs and they can get malignant if they grow enough but right now they just sit there and don’t do anything.
“I still have off-days but if I’m well enough that I can do something to make a difference, then I’ll do it.
“It’s important to give back and I’m just hoping I don’t feel bad on the day. But even if I do, I’d go ahead; it’d be pointless if I don’t, with all the training.
“As long as I finish it, I’ll be happy. I’ll probably suffer for it afterwards but if I manage to get money then that’s not really a big issue.”
Sarcoma UK researches rare cancers that develop in the supporting or connective tissues of the body, like muscle, bone, nerves, cartilage, blood vessels and fat.
Lindsay Bennister, chief executive of Sarcoma UK, said: “Stacey is an inspiration to everyone affected by cancer She has embraced life.”