22-year-old who put ankle pain down to training has to have leg removed

22-year-old who put ankle pain down to training has to have leg removed He had just started going back to the gym after a two-year break and had completed a triathlon A 22-year-old fitness fanatic who thought his ankle pain was down to training for a triathlon has lost his leg - after it turned out he had cancer. Ben Hewlett said his right ankle started to ache while training for an endurance race in June 2025, leaving him unable to stand on it. Ben had just got back into running after a two-year break and wrote off the pain as a result of his time off and regularly going to the gym. Ben said the intermittent pain was worse at night and became increasingly severe, while his ankle also started to swell. After the pain failed to improve, the project manager apprentice visited his GP in November 2025 and was given an X-ray and referred for an MRI. Believing it might be a fracture, Ben was horrified to be told he had osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. Doctors reportedly said there was no way to save Ben's leg after a biopsy revealed the four-inch tumour had 'taken over' the bone. Ben underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and then a four-hour operation in February 2026 to remove his right leg from below the knee. Now using a wheelchair and crutches, Ben faces a wait to discover if he is cancer-free. Ben, from Andover, Hampshire, said: "I had on and off pain. It was easy to write off as a sports injury from running. It wasn't 'til October it started to be really bad, it was really on and off. It would be fine and the next moment I wouldn't be able to walk at all, it became worse and worse. "My ankle was growing in size, which was the tumour itself. I had just got back into running - I was doing a triathlon for the company I worked at. It has been a good couple of years since I had taken a break from running. I went to the gym pretty regularly, I walked a lot in general. "I did the triathlon in July with no issues. I went to see my GP in early November, by that point it was quite obvious something was wrong with my foot, it was quite large. A couple of days after I had a call from my GP telling me to go for an MRI at the hospital. I thought I had just fractured or dislocated my ankle. "They told me it was osteosarcoma. It hadn't crossed my mind, I was quite surprised. It was a shock. It didn't hit me until I went for a CT scan straight after." Ben admitted he was shocked and wanted to 'disappear' after learning he would lose his leg, thinking about the things he wouldn't be able to do anymore. Ben said: "Everything came crashing down, I just wanted to disappear. The world shrunk, there was a lot of emotion. "I had a biopsy and they explained there was no chance of saving my leg, it had taken over my whole bone. Since I found out about the tumour, I wasn't allowed to walk on it so I've been using crutches and a wheelchair. I will start using a prosthetic leg [soon]. "I finished my chemo in late August and I'm waiting to find out the test results in mid-October. I couldn't believe all the things I wouldn't be able to do, but I had to accept it because there was no other option." Ben said it will take him at least two more years until he can go back to exercising. He created a GoFundMe to help him with the cost of his prosthetic leg, which he said can range from £8,000 to £15,000. Ben is raising awareness of the symptoms and is urging anyone experiencing them to get them checked out. Ben said: "Any pain that lasts longer than four weeks, like a bony ache at night, and unexplained weight loss are generally the symptoms for bone cancer. It will probably take another couple of years to be athletic again. If something doesn't feel right, go and see your GP."