Derbyshire pensioner credits 1,000 daily walks for helping him beat cancer

David Teideman, 77, received his cancer diagnosis in February 2016, and today is keeping his fingers cross that his next prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test will be the one to confirm treatment is finally over.

He said: “I was lucky as I went to my doctor for something totally different and the blood test flagged up that I had a enlarged prostate.

“My doctor diagnosed it early and reacted quickly, and that has saved my life. It’s all down to Dr Holden at the Imperial Road Surgery.”

Early intervention was not the only crucial factor in David’s recovery – he has put in plenty of hard yards himself.

He said: “After a lot of radiotherapy, by 2018 I was very low, not eating, lethargic and very weak. A hospital support worker, now a friend, had had similar problems and suggested I take up some light walking.

“I did not think I was up for it, but figured I had nothing to lose. In the beginning I was going out three or four times a week, and I started to feel the benefits. I was more upbeat and my appetite started getting slowly better.”

David has been fitting in walks almost every morning ever since, heading out at 8am to be home in time for customers arriving at Heatherdene Boarding Kennels, on Foxholes Lane, which he has been running with wife Jackie since 1990.

His regular circuit takes him around 1.5 miles via Lant Lane and Knabhall Lane, so by the time he ends his 1,000th trip on Monday, March 27, he will have clocked up the equivalent of walking to Marrakesh as the crow flies.

David said: “I usually walk alone for 25 to 30 minutes – I have enough of walking dogs for work – and in all weathers. I stop on occasion to speak to neighbours. I have cheated a few times. If I have had a appointment and not been able to walk I have done a extra walk or two the day before so that I have not broken the sequence.

“Long-term, I think it’s done me wonders, and the medical people I have spoken to totally agree. I think it’s something that would help others who are suffering. I know of two local men who have passed away with the same cancer and their partners both said they wish he had done the same.”

As the couple wind down the kennel work towards retirement later this year, there is no end in sight for David’s walking plans, even if he gets the all-clear from the hospital.

He has come to rely on its effects and now faces a new struggle with an acoustic neuroma – a non-cancerous tumour on the nerve used for hearing and balance.

David said: “I have been dealing with this for about nine months and the loss of hearing is driving me insane. I have had gamma radiation treatment to attempt to destroy the tumour because if they attempt to remove it, it could be life threatening.”

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