I am hoping that you will be able to support me as I try to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK and Llandovery Hospital league of friends.

I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in early 2022. Since then I have had radiotherapy, chemotherapy, an AP resection to take the bottom end of the bowel out and therefore a permanent colostomy, and finally I had a pelvic exenteration in Dec 2024 leaving me with a urostomy, I also suffered severe damage to my right sciatic nerve during the operation which has left me with numbness from my buttock to my foot and loss of most of the buttock muscles on that side and a very weak ankle and foot requiring a brace. I can now ride a bike, albeit an electric one as I cannot use my right leg to push the pedals. The cancer has now come back in the lymph glands in my chest (stage 4).

I plan to ride a virtual Lands End to John O’Groats (834 miles) by riding the hilly roads around Llandovery where I live.

There are around 44,100 new bowel cancer cases in the UK every year, that's around 120 every day (2017-2019).

Bowel cancer is the 4th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 11% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).

There are around 16,800 bowel cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's 46 every day (2017-2019).

Bowel cancer is the 2nd most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 10% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).

I was a GP and saw many people suffering from bowel cancer and now I am dealing with stage 4 cancer myself.

There are many people like me, and despite new treatments, they are not appropriate or effective for everyone.

We’re the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity.

We fund targeted research, provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate the public and professionals about the disease and campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care.

We’re here to stop people dying of bowel cancer.