AN INSPIRATIONAL teenage cancer survivor could be given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch across the region.
Michael Ready, of Lobley Hill, Gateshead, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in March last year and faced a gruelling regime of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to save his life.
But, determined to help others in similar situations, the 20-year-old threw himself into raising as much money as possible for the Charlie Bear Cancer Care charity.
Michael, who was a promising football player with Whickham under-21s before he became ill, launched a fundraising campaign with his parents Lynn and Michael and sister Laura, raising more than £11,000 in just one year.
The money raised helped pay for equipment to make life more enjoyable for young people as they undergo cancer treatment.
In April, he won The Journal’s Great North Run Hall of Fame award for his for his bravery in the face of extreme illness.
Now Michael has been nominated to be an Olympic torchbearer in the London 2012 flame relay.
The London 2012 Olympic torch relay will travel thousands of miles, arriving in Newcastle on June 15 next year as part of a 70-day celebration.
It will bring the spirit of the games to hundreds of communities across the UK, and it is estimated some 95% of the population will be within a one-hour journey of the flame.
