By reading this, you’re helping to make history

You’ve also enabled me to make history, by becoming the first person to obtain a Guinness World Record for the most published feature newspaper article in one day by the same author.

You’re reading this in one of hopefully 400 newspapers which have kindly agreed to help.

I have a romantic notion that you’re reading this while sitting on a tram in Melbourne, or the subway in Manhattan, or while eating breakfast in your hotel in somewhere such as Dubai.

Some of you will no doubt be reading this in bed after a busy day and, sadly, some will be reading it from a hospital bed – hospitals such as the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester or University College Hospital in London. Sadly, another thing that connects the millions of people reading this today is cancer.

This terrible disease isn’t fussy who it affects. It doesn’t care which newspaper you read, or where you read it.

There are more than 200 types of cancer, with about 12.7 million new cases diagnosed worldwide each year.

More than one in three of us will get some form of cancer during our lifetime.

More people worry about cancer than debt, crime or losing their job.

Scientists believe stress is one of the biggest contributory causes of cancer, along with habits such as smoking, overeating and heavy drinking.

I’m one of the lucky ones. Nineteen years ago, I was diagnosed with a cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma and given just three months to live.

I had a tumour the size of a dinner plate buried in the middle of my chest.

I spent eight months feeling dreadfully unwell, so was actually pleased when doctors put a name to it.

Naively, I hadn’t realised that non-Hodgkin lymphoma was a form of cancer.

I’d wrongly assumed I had an unusual condition that would be sorted out with a few pills.

While lying in a hospital bed, a nurse handed me a leaflet offering advice about cancer treatment.

I later asked my doctor if lymphoma was cancer and this is when I was told the brutal truth.

I started writing a memoir about my experience and the reaction from people around me was one of surprise when they found out.

They always responded with positive comments, but the expression on their faces said, “Why are you bothering”.

I got most of the physical symptoms the cancer leaflet described but equally I had a mental battle to win if I was to remain positive.

A nurse suggested I keep my thoughts to myself, to help protect my family and friends.

So I began writing, a way to offload my anxiety and remain focused. I’d no idea of the sort of hell I was about to go through. I endured two years of treatment, which included radiotherapy, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

Despite the side effects of the treatment and what the doctors had said, I never once thought this lump in my chest would kill me.

Writing my diary helped me stay positive. I’m 44 years old now.

It’s not a coincidence I chose today to write this feature, or obtain a Guinness World Record – it’s World Cancer Day.

On February 4 every year, people, businesses, governments and the media work together to create global cancer awareness and explore methods to prevent, detect and treat it.

With the help and support of your Worcester News, I’ve made history by creating the most published feature newspaper article in one day.

More importantly, by reading this, it may just save your life.

Don’t worry, you’ll not need to put your hand in your pocket, nor have the embarrassment of collecting sponsorship money from friends.

It involves just a few simple steps, literally.

A review by Cancer Research-funded researchers at Bristol University revealed that by simply exercising for just 30 minutes a day, you could cut the risk of bowel cancer by up to 50 per cent. Exercise also helps prevent breast, lung and endometrial cancer.

Even in these hard financial times, going for a walk costs nothing.

Breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancers account for more than half of all new cancers each year. Just think how many lives exercise alone could save.

The European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study has found that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables could reduce the risk of mouth, oesophageal and lung cancers, as well as some types of stomach cancer.

Again, think how many lives could be saved by just eating vegetables.

If everyone did as I suggest above, perhaps I could obtain another world record for saving the most lives – I’m obviously joking, but a nice thought.

Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world, according to the World Health Organisation, which estimates that 84 million people will die of cancer between 2005 and 2015 without intervention.

The good news, however, is that cancer survival rates have doubled in the last 40 years.

More than half the people diagnosed with cancer now survive their disease for more than five years.

In men, the highest five-year survival rate is for testicular cancer, with a massive 95 per cent of men surviving.

For women, the highest five-year survival rate, at 90 per cent, is for malignant melanoma.

So I’ve proven that it’s easy to achieve things if we work together.

Very easily, you’ve helped me achieve a Guinness World Record, by simply reading this column.

I’ve also shown you that exercising for just 30 minutes a day can reduce some cancers by up to 50 per cent.

Just think what ‘we’, collectively, as a group of people worldwide could accomplish, if we work together to destroy this terrible disease. I’m currently writing a book, a collection of true inspirational stories from cancer survivors such as myself, who have battled to overcome the effects of this awful disease.

I want the book to motivate, encourage and give hope to cancer sufferers, their family and friends. Therefore, if you have an inspirational story to share, for possible publication, please contact me via my website.

• Chris Geiger is an ambassador for Cancer Research and Bristol’s Above & Beyond hospital charity. To donate, visit ChrisGeiger.co.uk or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ChrisGeiger