A Newcastle-born bestselling writer has spoken out about how what he thought was a bad stomach turned out to be a lethal form of cancer with left him with a "rugby-ball sized" tumour and loved ones planning his funeral.
Mike Craven - an ex-soldier who writes under the name MW Craven and has seen his Washington Poe novels hit the Sunday Times Bestsellers list - came back from the brink after almost dying of the disease aged just 35. Now, 54, he's discussed how close he came and the horrors of Burkitt lymphoma.
Growing up in Hazlerigg, Mike attended Gosforth High School before embarking on a career in the army. After 11 years, he joined the probation service and was living in Cumbria when he was diagnosed with cancer. He spent a harrowing six months as an in-patient at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.
