A TEENAGER who lost his mother to cancer has completed a charity bike ride in her memory.

Andrew Todd, 18, of Huntington Road, York, raised more than £1,750 for Macmillan Cancer Care by completing a cycle challenge from Bridlington to Whitby, together with his friend, Krzysztof Rockwell.

His mum, Jane, was diagnosed with cancer of the throat in September 2008, and died a year later aged 54.

“Many aspects of my life changed, from my social life to my education, as I dedicated much of my free time to my mum,” said Andrew, who has an older brother, Simon, and an older sister, Samantha, as well as his dad, Jeff.

“I quickly began to worry about the future, and what shape it would take. I had no idea how much time we had. Every day became both a joy and a worry, because we never knew in which direction the illness would lead, or how quickly.

“There were never any sure signs, and due to the nature of cancer therapy, things only ever seemed to get worse.

“I never really thought about the treatment for cancer, which I soon found out to be often painful and uncomfortable, mainly using dangerous radiation.

“Seeing someone so close go through this was incredibly difficult, for someone without previous experience of cancer.

“Shocking though it was, it often surprised me to see others in my situation, members of my family included, dealing with it, somehow.”

Andrew, then a pupil at Queen Ethelburga’s College, managed to sit AS level exams in geography, history, maths and physics, and is now awaiting his results.

He is on a gap year and will travel around Canada and the US, Australia and New Zealand, before applying to read business management at university.

In the meantime, he has become a volunteer for Macmillan Cancer Support.

“After my mother passed away I decided that I wanted to help other people in a similar situation to me, and thought if I could help just one young person make it through their exams like I did, then all my efforts would be worth something,” he said.

For more information about cancer, call the Macmillan Support Line for free on 0808 808 0000.

To find out about fundraising, call 01904 756404, email smillington@macmillan.org.uk, or visit macmillan.org.uk