A father of two thought he had a urinary tract infection and was prescribed antibiotics and drank cranberry juice, which initially helped resolve his symptoms
But Chris Cotton was told the day after his 50th birthday that he had “incurable” bladder cancer
He’s now raising money for U.K. cancer centers with a 56-mile bike race, saying cycling helps him “mentally and physically”
A father of two thought he had a urinary tract infection — until he was told the day after his 50th birthday that it was “incurable” bladder cancer that had spread.
Chris Cotton first started experiencing symptoms, like feeling the need to urinate frequently and pain while going, in October 2022. However, when he went to the doctor, “they took some urine samples and gave me some antibiotics,” he said, according to The New York Post.
The symptoms, he said, “went away for a while,” but came back a few months later. Cotton, who hails from the English town of Sandbach, explained that he did “all sorts” of things to treat what he thought was a UTI: “I would drink cranberry juice, thinking that would flush through whatever was causing the pain, but that didn’t have much of an effect.”
Related: Christian Radio Host Rob Dempsey Dies a Week After Announcing Cancer Diagnosis: ‘He Was a Great Man’
Chris Cotton/SWNS
Chris Cotton (left) and his wife Hannah
But after repeated visits back to the doctor, in January 2024, the civil service worker was told he had invasive bladder cancer after doctors removed a tumor.
“I prepared myself that it could be cancer. After the doctor left, it hit me, and I was upset for a while,” he said. “It was really raw, but I have to accept the situation I am in. I have very little control in this situation.”
Chris Cotton/SWNS
Chris Cotton
Related: I Thought My 100-Lb. Weight Loss Was from Running Around with My Kids — But It Was Stage 3 Colon Cancer (Exclusive)
“The cancer had already spread to my pelvic lymph nodes and to a vessel near the bladder,” Cotton said. “As a result, the prognosis was very poor … this devastating news came as a huge shock — not just to me, but also to my incredibly strong and supportive wife Hannah, and our two wonderful young daughters,” he said of his children, aged 12 and 14.
“Our world changed overnight to a world of learning new things about cancer, hospital appointments and difficult conversations with family and friends,” he told the outlet.
The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!
The day after his 50th birthday — January 3, 2025 — Cotton says he was given the bleak news: “The oncologist said that my cancer was incurable.”
Chris Cotton/SWNS
Chris Cotton is raising money for cancer charities with a fundraising bike ride.
“I asked what time frame we were looking at. It is a question that nobody wants to ask, and nobody wants to answer,” he explained. “She said that if … other options don’t work, I would be looking at 12 to 24 months.”
“I was upset at that point, your mind starts racing. If I only have 12 to 24 months left to live — what do I do?”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
For Cotton, he chose to join Sir Chris Hoy’s 56-mile charity bike ride in Glasgow that will raise funds for The Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Care Centres. Cycling, he said, “is a pastime I have sought great solace which has helped me mentally and physically in tough times.”
After all, “There are things I wanted to do in my lifetime, places that I wanted to see.”
Read the original article on People
