A 32-year-old who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia has been given the all-clear after receiving life-saving treatment.

Ricky Kennedy was waiting for the test results of the stem cell transplant when he was told the good news that he was cancer free.

He said: “It did not really sink in. There have been so many curve balls, I was a bit cynical that it had actually gone.

“It was not until a couple of days later that I thought my life could go back to normal.”

Ricky received the devastating diagnosis three weeks after he and his wife Sam picked up the keys to their doer-upper first home in Hoo.

He was starting to look pale and was losing a lot of weight but it was not until he almost passed out while working on his new house, in Walters Road, did he realise something was wrong.

Sam called 111 who advised Ricky to go to A&E at Medway Maritime Hospital where he waited for around 21 hours to be seen before being transferred to King’s College Hospital in London.

Ricky, who is originally from Crewe, in Cheshire, and moved to Kent in 2018, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia and was told he was in the “blast crisis” stage.

This meant the cancer of the white blood cells had become acute and he was placed in the highest category.

The tradesman was given a 22% chance of survival and told the only way he could get better was to go through an intense chemotherapy programme.

He went through three rounds of treatment and spent around three months in and out of the hospital.

In December 2022, Ricky was able to have a life-saving stem cell transplant, which replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones, and two days before Christmas, he was finally discharged.

Now, nine months later, he has been given the all-clear.

He added: “This news comes almost a year after we were given the devastating Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia diagnosis.

“What a year it has been but we are both so glad that I am alive and we are both so grateful and so very thankful for all my care team at King's College Hospital. Those guys are the real superheroes.”

After his battle with cancer, Ricky has decided to organise a charity football event to raise money for the charity Leukaemia UK. You can also donate here.

It will be hosted at Chatham Town FC on Saturday, September 16, and tickets will cost £5 each at the door.