Tractor driver welcomed back after cancer all clear

Mr Withers said: "It seems only right that we try and do something just to say thank you and to give back to Peterborough NHS"

A tractor driver hopes to raise money for the NHS as a thank you for helping him get "patched up and back to work" after a rectal cancer diagnosis.

Edward Withers, 44, said he had an "emotional" return to Sacrewell Farm, Peterborough, following his all clear from doctors in June.

After talking about an "uncomfortable experience in the bathroom", a colleague of Mr Withers encouraged him to see his GP.

He hoped sharing his story would encourage others to talk and consult medical help if they were in a similar situation, to catch an early diagnosis.

Mr Withers took up the tractor driver position in Sacrewell for summer 2022.

He said he had been going to the farm since 1986 so it had "always been close to my heart because of how close it was to my childhood".

After starting the role, he fell in love with the farm's "big family" and said his goal during treatment was to "get back as soon as possible".

"There is a little boy that comes into the farm and the first day that he saw me back was pretty cool because he'd been waiting for tractor bike for the last six months," Mr Withers said.

"He's mad about the tractors, so for me to see him knowing that he wanted to go on, and him to see me knowing he could go on the tractor was amazing.

"It is little moments that make you smile."

He added as a thank you to the NHS in Peterborough after lots testing, treatment and care, the farm would have donation buckets to raise money for it.

"From the minute I was diagnosed to the end of my treatment, they were amazing.

"The nurses were truly lovely, always having a laugh and a smile on their faces...the receptionists when you walked in were always a bubble of light.

"It just makes the experience as as smooth as it possibly could be at quite a stressful time."

Mr Withers urged anyone who was experiencing possible bowel cancer symptoms to contact their GP.