MUSSELBURGH student Dan Taylor says he feels “extremely happy and relieved” to finally be cancer free after an eight-month battle with the disease.

He is now looking forward to returning to Edinburgh Napier University to finish his sport and exercise degree.

Dan was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer mostly affecting people under 25, after visiting the doctor with a sore leg.

The 22-year-old told the Courier: “It’s been a hard eight months to get through, especially with the different infections and problems I’ve faced along the way.

To get the news that it’s over is amazing. It’s not quite sunk in yet as I’ve still got a lot of work to do with my leg to get back to living life normally but just knowing there is no more chemotherapy to go through is fantastic.

“My treatment included 10 weeks of chemo to shrink the tumour, then limb salvage surgery to remove it completely, then more chemo as I had cancerous cells in my lungs which luckily, thanks to the chemo, have all disappeared now.

“I feel very thankful to the nurses at the Western General Hospital and my consultants who have been amazing through the whole process before, during and after. They do an amazing job at the NHS and now I’m cancer free. I’m extremely grateful for the job that they do.”

Dan’s last round of chemotherapy was last month, so he only needs to return to hospital for check-ups, future X-rays and CT scans.

He said: “Right now my main focus is working on my leg. I’m getting physio twice a week where I’m practising bending, stretching and walking on my leg. I need to build the muscles back up in it to be able to get back up on my feet again with no support.

“I’m looking forward to this in order to get my independence back and do simple daily things for myself.

“I’m excited to get back to university in January to complete my fourth year and graduate next summer. But mainly I’m looking forward to getting on with being a 22-year-old, spending time with family and being able to hang out with friends again.

“There’s so many different things I want to do. The past eight months has made me realise life’s too short and if there’s something you want to do then do it.”

Dan paid tribute to his girlfriend Kirsty Hunter, 22, who is also from Musselburgh, saying: “She has been there for me since day one and I’ll be forever grateful to her.

“I wish I could put into words just how much I appreciate her.

“I’d also like to thank my family, Kirsty’s family and all of our close friends who have supported us along the way and continue to do so. I’m thankful for them all.”

Singled out for special mention was Kirsty’s friend and colleague Emma Edwards, who organised a big fundraising effort at Pinocchio’s Nursery at Eskbank in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Dan said: “A huge thank you to Pinocchio’s and the staff, parents and children. I’d like to thank Emma for organising this and coming up with each and every idea. She’s not only Kirsty’s colleague but our very close friend who has given us a huge amount of love and support every step of the way.”

Kirsty said: “Its a crazy feeling knowing Dan is now cancer free. We were all very emotional finding out his good news and were so excited to let our family and friends know. He’s been so strong over the last eight months and it’s all worked out for him, which I am so thankful for.

“I’m very proud of how he’s handled it and continues to handle it all. We’ve spoken about different things that the two of us can’t wait to do and things we can’t wait to do with our friends once his leg is better, from going out to dinner to planning holidays.”

Fundraising at Pinocchio’s Nursery included a sponsored scavenger hunt, wearing yellow – the colour of the bone cancer ribbon – along with giving donations, and selling wristbands and badges.

Emma, 26, pre-school supervisor, said: “I am really proud to work for a company and a team that genuinely care about each other as much as we do. When one of us gets knocked down we pick each other back up, which is just amazing.

“Seeing the children’s reaction to wanting to help Kirsty and Dan is something I’ll never forget. I think being kind is such an important thing to learn and they all have definitely learnt it through this.”