Life Cycle of a Champion – David battles back from cancer twice to keep on track for Rio

Even by the standard of Paralympic athletes, cyclist David Smith has overcome a lot in his life.

He was born with two club feet, which led to an operation that left his right foot permanently deformed.

And now he has had to face up to an even greater challenge living with a tumour that sits on his spinal cord.

He’d turned his hand to Paralympic sport at the end of 2008, winning a place on the British rowing team at the World Championships and looking all set to compete at London 2012.

But in 2010, a tumour the size of a tennis ball was found at the back of his neck.

“I’d had it since birth, it’s a genetic thing,” says the 37-year-old.

“No tumour is good to have but unfortunately with this one it doesn’t respond to radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

“The only option is surgery to remove it, but the problem with that is that it sits on the spinal cord, on the nerve root that feeds the lungs, and if they disturb that it will most likely leave me paralysed from the neck down or dead.”

Despite the dangers, the surgery to remove part of the tumour was a success, although a blood clot meant a second operation.

David then entered a year-long battle to regain his fitness and amazingly fulfilled his dream of winning gold for Team GB at the 2012 Paralympics.

“Those two years were absolute hell but I wouldn’t change a thing,” he smiles.

David then took up cycling with a view to competing at the Rio Games in 2016. Training was going well until he attended his regular five monthly scan on his tumour in August last year.

“I remember lying on the scanning machine thinking ‘I could never go through that again’.”

But then he got the results back from the scan.

“My stomach sank but I was telling myself ‘Don’t cry, don’t cry’. I went outside for a moment, looked up at the TV screen and they were showing the cycling stage of the Commonwealth Games triathlon. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.”

When he returned to the room his surgeon revealed had a one in 500 chance of surviving more surgery.

It was possible he’d lose both lungs and spend the rest of his life on a ventilator.

“When I lay on the anaesthetic table, just as I closed my eyes I had this thought that I might never open them again.

“That is a really strange place to be in when two days before that I had ridden 60 miles on my bike and felt fine.”

But David did open his eyes again and when he saw his surgeon he only had one question for him. When can I get back on my bike?

“I’m always going to be in competition with this tumour. It has a 68% chance of recurring.

“But if you’re willing to let yourself have dreams and goals you can live to the best of what you can.

“There’s not a day goes by where I’m not in pain but I still go out every day and ride my bike and I’m very grateful that I’m still able to do that.

“When I was a youngster I was often told there were things I can’t do. I just used those words as fuel to drive me on.

“I returned to my primary school in Aviemore recently and told the children that there’s nothing they cannot do. Just because you come from a little Highland village doesn’t mean you can’t travel the world.”

And for David Smith, the next destination he is aiming to travel to is Rio.

David’s inspirational story is being told in a documentary, Dead Man Cycling, that will air on BBC2 Scotland, Tuesday, 9pm.