Teenage cancer survivor Alex celebrates a year in remission

Alexandra Turner Davis, now 16, was the Role Model of the Year at last year’s Best of South Tyneside Awards.

It was given in recognition of her raising £50,000 to support others.

But the award also came after Alex battled back from an uncommon type of cancer, called laryngeal cancer, that develops inside the tissue of the voicebox.

Doctors thought brave Alex would still be using feeding tubes and still paying regular visits to hospital.

But instead, the South Shields teenager is doing astonishingly well and leading a fundraising campaign for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

She has now been in remission for just after a year. If that stretches to five years, she can be officially declared as free from cancer.

But on top of that, the amount raised by the Teenage Cancer Trust has kept on rising and now stands at £53,000.

Yet Alex and her family have not stopped there. They are in the process of setting up another cause. It will be called Alex’s Angels Foundation and will give financial support to the families of children who are facing their own fight with cancer.

That could be in the form of anything from fashion accessories to a weekend away.

And if that was not enough, Alex is also studying health and social care at Gateshead College.

Alex’s father Mark Purvis said: “Alex is doing well. She is just over a year of full recovery. She is a year in remission.

“It is the first year of five and so far, it is OK.”

Alex’s health was diagnosed with a disease which is thought to affect just one in every 100,000 people and is rare in those under 40, with most cases affecting people aged 60 or over.

Looking back on the awards night, she said: “It was a really good atmosphere and it was very nice to be a part of it.”

Now Alex is urging people to nominate their own favourites for this year’s awards.

The Best of South Tyneside awards have a headline sponsor of Siemens and are being held in association with the Customs House, and with Port of Tyne, BT South Tyneside, Barbour, David Gray and Harlow Print as category sponsors.

The deadline for entries in the competition is May 6. After that, judges will draw up a shortlist for each of the categories listed. And then it’s on to the grand finale, which will be held this year at the Quality Hotel on June 9. The awards will honour unsung stars. We know there are heroes galore out there who are worthy of awards.

Fill in the nomination form on this page or visit http://www.jpne-events.co.uk