For many the battle against cancer is one that they will vividly remember for the rest of their lives.
But for Ally McEwan, 26, the life-threatening struggle is a distant memory and one he has difficulty remembering clearly.
At just four years old, his family’s world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
And exactly 20 years on from being given the all-clear, as he gears up to take part in a fundraising fashion show, Mr McEwan admitted the impact of the diagnosis was lost on him until many years afterwards.
He said: “My earliest memory, which has any clarity, is my dad telling me that we had to go to the hospital.
“I can remember it as clear as day, I remember him telling me we had to go there instead of my grandparents and I remember being absolutely gutted.
“Like I say my memories of going through the treatment are just little pictures that come through, for example I remember getting to drive a little car into the operating theatre.
“As I got older it affected me much more than it did when I was actually going through the treatment.
“It’s not all over when you get the all-clear, you always have to live with cancer, it’s a huge part of my life.”
Mr McEwan, from Portlethen, spent two years undergoing chemotherapy and various operations to try and keep the deadly disease at bay, for which he still bears the scars of to this day.
Eventually, two years on, he was told the cancer had gone and two decades later he is determined to thank the doctors and nurses who helped ensure he was able to enjoy the rest of his childhood.
On May 10, Mr McEwan will take to the Brave catwalk along with 22 other men who are at different stages of their fight against cancer.
The event at the Beach Ballroom raises money for Friends of Anchor, with the charity currently focused on its drive towards creating a world-class treatment and research unit in Aberdeen.
“One of the reasons I’m so honoured to take part and help FoA is I have always wanted to give something back to the people that saved my life,” he said. “It’s something that really means a lot.
“When I was about 10 or 11 I started to realise what I had gone through and come to terms with the massive impact of it, and I still am to be honest.
“When I got to my teenage years and early adulthood it really started to hit me. I had this feeling that something was going to happen or go wrong.
“It affects your thinking and when you’re planning things. I have got passed that now but it’s one of the ways it’s affected me.”
And he admitted that when he first met the other models he felt a little out of place, with his own battle such a distant memory.
He said: “You’re hearing all these stories and everything people are going through and because of that you have got a special and unique bond, it’s a really horrible thing but it’s a really positive thing we are doing.
“In the same way if you ask me if I remember when I first found out I had cancer, these guys are speaking about the here and now or the very recent past.
“And it’s quite strange to not be able to share any personal memories as such. But despite that I’ve been welcomed just as everyone else was.”
