Cancer Patient Completes Marathon with the Doctor Who Rebuilt His Hip

When Colin Jackson, 39, was diagnosed in 2019 with chondrosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, he refused to let the health challenge end his running days. "I’m not going to let cancer stop me from doing what I love," Jackson told San Diego News.

Even after undergoing hip reconstruction surgery and completing a lengthy rehabilitation, Jackson remained determined to run marathons again someday. "I remember lying in my room at the Jacobs Medical Center, bedridden and unable to move after the surgery where they removed the tumor and rebuilt my hip, and thinking to myself, ‘I will complete a marathon again,’" Jackson recalled. "I knew it would be tough to get there but not impossible."

However, he did not anticipate that his doctor, Dr. James Flint, would join him on the 40-kilometer journey, but that is exactly what happened two months ago.

Despite living in separate states — Jackson in Arizona and Flint in California — the two completed the course together, if not physically then at least in spirit. "It was really cool that Dr. Flint went through this journey with me," Jackson said. "His presence made all the difference. I can’t put it into words."

Jackson on the left with his doctor

Five years before Jackson was diagnosed with cancer, he began running to become healthier. "I was morbidly obese and my doctor told me I needed to make a change if I wanted to live to see my next birthday." Jackson gradually improved his fitness and set a goal to run three marathons a year.

His plans were disrupted after he was attacked in 2018 and suffered a fractured skull and ankle. His pain persisted until 2019, when he was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma. It’s a type of bone cancer that develops in cartilage cells and primarily affects the femur, arm, pelvis, and knee. In Jackson’s case, he required endoprosthetic joint replacement with bone, joints, and soft tissue reconstruction.

After the surgery, while he was recovering, he kept asking the doctors if he could run again. Dr. Flint jokingly said that if he ran a marathon again, he would join him. Flint kept his word, albeit not in the usual way. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, he couldn’t leave the state, but he accompanied Jackson throughout the journey via video call.

Jackson’s journey took 12 hours, 32 minutes, and 32 seconds. "It’s amazing what the body can do with what I have," Jackson said in a post after the marathon. "It wasn’t harder than my cancer journey."

These days, Jackson is still battling cancer, which spread to his lungs last month. Despite the uncertainty, Jackson remains positive: "I’m still doing what I love. I’m just doing it differently. It’s changed how I move, but not how I live my life."