On 23 September 2025, I embarked on a challenge to walk over 100km in 5 days across the vast sand dunes of the Namibian desert, the oldest desert in the world, described as "the most inhospitable environment on this planet." Myself and 14 others, faced changeable desert and coastal conditions along the greater Skeleton Coast, and wild basic camping at night.

40tude is a charity dedicated to promoting early diagnosis of bowel cancer and supporting ground breaking research led by St. Mark's Hospital, London, the UK’s national bowel hospital.

The challenge is to raise funds for a campaign called “Half:Time”. 40tude’s aim is to encourage everyone to get themselves tested for bowel cancer, ideally from the age of 45 - the “half time / mid point” of life. This is in response to an alarming rise in bowel cancer cases in the under 50’s. However, early detection saves lives as 90% of patients survive if it is found at Stage 1, but only 10% survive when it’s Stage 4. There are 120 new cases and 50 lives lost to bowel cancer every day. This needn’t be the case as bowel cancer is one of the easiest cancers to treat if it is detected early. So if more people get tested from their mid 40’s, then more lives will be saved.

I’d be incredibly grateful for your support with a donation if you can. Thank you.

Together, we can help prevent more families from being affected by bowel cancer.

Best wishes

David

It’s really easy to get tested: FIT is a simple test that can be done at home. 40tude has partnered with Selph, a well-regarded provider of at-home tests. You can buy a qFIT (high-sensitivity poo test) via Selph's website at: https://www.selph.co.uk/tests/q-fit-bowel-cancer-test