EuroMillions: Crawley cancer survivor scoops lottery win

A man who was diagnosed with cancer as a teenager said he hoped he was at the start of “a lucky phase” after he won a lottery prize of more than £130,000.

Jonathan Aldridge, 32, from Crawley, scooped £133,173.20 after he bought some EuroMillions Lucky Dip tickets earlier this year.

He was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when he was 17.

Mr Aldridge said his family’s support had been “central” to his cancer recovery over the years, and he “can now repay that support” with his winnings.

Mr Aldridge said he had been “living a typical teenage lifestyle” before he found a growth on his neck.

He said he was “receiving particularly aggressive chemotherapy” at hospital and was “lying awake at night thinking ‘this might be it’.

“Throughout I made a promise to myself to stay calm. I wanted to protect my mum from the heartache, so I put on a good show,” he said.

Mr Aldridge said when he was told he would have to undergo radiotherapy, he “wasn’t confident [he] would make it”.

“But six harrowing months of treatment later, I was one of the very lucky ones to be told I was in remission, and they couldn’t detect any signs of the cancer.”

Mr Aldridge went on to study and qualify as an accountant, but said it had been “a long journey rebuilding my physical and mental health”.

He said he would use his winnings for a deposit for a house, as well as donate to Young Lives Versus Cancer charity.

He added: “I shared the news of my win because hopefully it will show other people who may be going through a tough time that there is hope, and that magic does happen.”