A WHITEHAVEN man who had a leg amputated when he was 19 after being diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, is taking on the world's biggest half marathon.

Dave Oakley, a chemical engineer at Sellafield, is set to embark on the 13.1-mile challenge for the charity which supported him through his battle with the disease.

Dave, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma as a teenager, will be among the 57,000 runners taking part in the Great North Run on September 9.

It is the latest feat for Dave who has already successfully completed the London Marathon back in 2013 and the Edinburgh half last year.

His thirst for fitness and activity is a far cry from his late teenage times when he bravely battled the rare tumour in his leg. It is coming up to 10 years since he received treatment.

"I love keeping active; I run, I hike, I play squash and ultimate frisbee, and I don’t let my prosthesis slow me down," said Dave.

"I've travelled, skydived, and even tried surfing - although I struggled a bit with that one.

"I am very fortunate that I now have my legs made at PACE in Manchester (specialist prosthetic producer), I couldn’t do half the things I am capable of now if it wasn’t for them.

"Back when I was at uni there were days when I could barely walk the mile to lectures let alone run, they turned my life around and gave me my mobility back."

Dave was 18-years-old and had just started university - an exciting time for any teenager - when his life took a turn.

He said: "I'd had swelling in my right ankle, and the pain was getting so bad I couldn't sleep. It couldn't be managed with conventional painkillers, and in the end I had to go to A&E.

"I had landed awkwardly when playing football not long before, and they told me that the pain I was experiencing was a ligament problem. I guess nine out of 10 times they would've been right, but unfortunately not in my case.

"The pain got worse and worse, and six months later I was sent for an X-ray, and then a biopsy less than a week after that.

"Things were starting to move quickly, and on December 20 I was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma. I was drugged up on painkillers when they broke the news to me."

Treatment at University College London Hospital started on Dave's 19th birthday.

He said: "Some of my friends came up to the unit to celebrate in the evening, but it wasn't a birthday I'd cherish.

"After three months of chemo I had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs. It shut down my kidneys and liver, and I was in a coma for three days."

Dave spent time on the hospital's Teenage Cancer Trust unit.

"The days on treatment were pretty rough, which was to be expected, but my time on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit wasn't that bad," he said.

"There were five of us who started our treatment at similar times, and we would normally be on the unit together as our treatment times overlapped.

"It made a huge difference as we got on so well and we could empathise with each other and share experiences.

"Sadly, there are only three of us left now. Losing those friends was incredibly hard."

During his time on the unit, which boasted a games room, Dave met celebrities including The Who frontman Roger Daltry.

Dave kept himself busy by fitting in as much physio as he could before and after surgery, which helped him prepare for when he had to learn to walk again.

He said: "My amputation and prosthetics fittings took place at Stanmore Hospital, and my experience was so different to how it was on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit.

"I was on an adult ward, there were patients in a huge range of different circumstances, and it was a pretty tough environment.

"Finally I got the news that I was in remission. It was a great feeling."

Dave returned to university the same year, which was always his target.

"The way I saw it, treatment was just something I had to get through, and then I could get on with my life," he said.

"I had a great four years at uni, although only having one leg took some adjusting to and knocked me back. I'm still not totally comfortably with it, but it hasn't limited me too much."