Fed member running the Marathon after cancer recovery

25 April 2026

A year after being unable to walk more than 10 steps during her treatment for blood cancer, Suffolk Police officer PC Issy Reeve will take part in the London Marathon.

Issy was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in February last year, the day after she passed out from training school.

She watched last year’s Marathon from her hospital bed during her treatment and vowed she would take part in this year’s event.

It’s a promise she is now preparing to fulfil and will run the race alongside her dad James Hurley.

Issy said: “I was still having chemotherapy and watching the Marathon in hospital and I said to my mum that I was going to do it next year.

 

Issy and her dad during their London Marathon training.

 

“She asked if I would be fit enough, and I said ‘yeah, I’ll be fine’.

“I just thought that I was going to get better by this time next year and that I’m going to do this.”

Issy was at the start of her policing career. After serving as a cadet and a Special Constable, she joined training school in September 2024.

The day after passing out, she underwent biopsies after a spell of unexplained illness.

She said: “I was 19. I’d just started the police. I was probably in a bit of denial because you don’t expect something like that to happen to you.”

Symptoms

For a few months beforehand, Issy had experienced extreme tiredness and recurring illness, symptoms which were explained away by the demands of training and a new policing career.

She recalled itchy skin and an unusual shoulder pain after having had an alcoholic drink around her birthday.

However, concern grew when she discovered lumps around her neck area.

She said: “My mum’s a nurse. When I took my jumper off, we found five lumps. Some were golf-ball sized.

“When I saw mum’s reaction to the lumps, I knew it was something horrible. The next day we went to the GP, and he agreed.

Testing and biopsies

“That was the last week of training school. I had all my exams and everything and then the week after I got referred to oncology for testing and biopsies and stuff.”

Issy was diagnosed with late stage two Hodgkin lymphoma.

Following the diagnosis, Suffolk Police Federation gave her guidance and reassurance, and helped her to understand her options.

Issy said: “When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t know what to do but Emma Arthurs-Newman advised me. She was really helpful and supportive.”

Her policing team also rallied around her, staying in contact throughout treatment and even delivering a hamper.

 

Issy and her dad at her passing out.

 

She said: “They were really supportive. My team would message me and made me a hamper. They came and saw me and checked in with me.”

Issy donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity providing free real-hair wigs to children and young people facing hair loss from cancer or other conditions, and which funds vital research into childhood cancer.

Issy said: “The hardest part of it all was losing my hair, and what felt like my identity had been taken away from me.

“The Little Princess Trust donated me a wig, while my hair will be used to make another young person one.”

She underwent intense chemotherapy, which lasted four months. And also had to battle a number of illnesses and infections.

All-clear

Issy was given the all-clear in the middle of August.

 She said: “I can't thank the amazing team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge enough for everything they have done for me.”

Issy returned to work six weeks later on restricted duties as she rebuilt her strength.

Her London Marathon training began in December, and she has completed runs of around 16 miles.

Issy will run for the Anthony Nolan charity, which matches people with blood cancer with stem cell donors. Her dad is running for Young Lives vs Cancer, which supports children, young people, and their families navigate a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

London Marathon

They plan to run the marathon together.

Issy said: “He’s a bit faster than me, but he’s said he’ll stay with me and we’ll do it together.

“I just want to show people that things do get better. You can do anything you put your mind to.”

Issy also hopes that by telling her story she can raise awareness and help others.

Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK. Someone is diagnosed with it every 14 minutes, totalling around 40,000 new cases every year, and yet many people remain unaware of the symptoms.

Raise awareness

She said: “If it had been any longer, I might not even be here. Now I can use it to raise awareness.

“You hear about the symptoms of breast cancer and prostate cancer and things like that, but with my one, it happens so often but people don’t know the signs.

“If talking about it helps even one person go to the doctor earlier, then it’s worth it.”

You can support Issy by clicking here.