Expdonaloaded News; Bike crash saves father's life (photos)

A father-of-five credits a cycling accident with saving his life - after a deadly tumour the size of melon appeared on his neck just days later. Simon Nutting, 39, from Walsall, West Midlands, flew head first over his handle bars while cycling home on April 30. Days later, the self-confessed fitness fanatic began to suffer with a stiff neck, which his doctor diagnosed as a sprain from his fall.

But within a week a lump had grown - and within a month he was diagnosed with an aggressive soft tissue cancer - Ewing's sarcoma.

Mr Nutting, a support worker, believes the smash saved his life, as doctors have warned the cancer - which lay dormant - may have been untreatable if found any later.

He said: 'I couldn't believe it when a lump the size of a melon had grown on the side of my neck overnight.

'I did a double take when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

'Two days after my bike accident I had a stiff neck, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it was cancer.'

He said his diagnosis was such a shock because he considered himself to be in peak physical health - exercising regularly and cycling to and from work every day.

Mr Nutting added: 'I have five wonderful children and I didn't care what it took, I just wanted to get better for them.

'It's so scary to think that if I never had the bike accident the sarcoma would still be undetected today.

'Now I'm responding well to chemotherapy and know I'm going to kick cancers butt, not just for me but for my beautiful wife and kids.'

Mr Nutting's tumour was left crushed as a result of the tumour growing so quickly - so he started treatment straight away.

He is now on his third cycle of chemotherapy and must have three more before doctors can perform surgery to remove any of the remaining tumour.

He said: 'It hasn't been an easy journey but I'm not giving in.'

He described how he nearly died a few days into his first cycle of chemo after having a bad reaction which meant his blood wouldn't clot.

He now weighs just eight-and-a-half stone after losing more than three stone in eight weeks.

'After my bike accident I got up and initially thought I had just a few grazes, I can't believe how much has changed in a few months.'

Mr Nutting was cycling home when he had to brake suddenly. 'I'd recently changed my brake pads so my bike came to a halt and I went head first over the handle bars,' he said. 

His wife Emma, 29, a full-time mother, has now started fundraising to help her husband and their children as he an no longer work and provide for them.

She said: 'My husband is such a loving, selfless man who always puts others first and now I want to help him.

'He's been through so much in the past four months and I want to take as much pressure off him as possible.

'We would never normally ask for anything from anyone but I've set up a gofundme page to help us keep our heads above water until Simon can return to work.

'It's been a devastating time for us all and I'm so proud of Simon, he's fought the cancer every step of the way.'

Mr Nutting was misdiagnosed countless times due to Ewing's sarcoma being so rare.