I’m doing the Walk for Hope on 28th October to raise £1000.

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer… yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

This is not acceptable!

It’s one thing to read statistics, but as I discovered, when you become one of them, the awful reality becomes a life-changer. The evening of 21st May 2022 will stay with me forever. After months of wondering why everything seemed to be falling apart and fearing that I was losing my mind, a consultant with an impeccable bedside manner was obviously finding it hard to put into words something that nobody ever wants to hear; the MRI scan taken two hours earlier had identified a large tumour located in the frontal part of my brain.

It's a sad fact that dreadful things happen to people all the time, but deep-down you hope it will never be 'me'. When you learn that a potentially life-threatening intruder has been growing in your head, possibly for years, well .... that just feels like the stuff of sci-fi horror movies.

It was impossible to take in. I had no idea whether I'd ever see another day or my partner, my family and friends. I still had so many places to see, and things I still wanted to do. It felt like the end-credits for my life story were rolling.

Now, for a spoiler alert.

I survived. (Of course, who else would be writing this?)

But I’ve done more than survive. Today, my life has been given back to me. Strange as it seems, I feel incredibly fortunate. The fantastic neurosurgery team at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford successfully removed the tumour in June 2022 and confirmed that it was a benign meningioma - albeit a big one!

Happily, more and more people do survive, but I can never forget that many people affected by this cruel disease are not so lucky. Survivors may suffer life-changing impairments that require round-the-clock care and support. Scars can remain, physical and mental, that take months and sometimes years to heal. The impact on families, relationships, careers and life quality can be equally devastating.

That's why I'm participating in Walk for Hope during October 2023 to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research, the only national charity dedicated to funding long-term, sustainable research in the UK.

I shall be walking the South Dorset Ridgeway, a 17.5-mile coastal walk, on Saturday 28th October (https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/-/south-dorset-ridgeway).

I was born in Dorset and feel rejuvenated when I walk the Jurassic Coast. It is a beautiful part of world and a place to reconnect with nature and celebrate just being alive.

I would be so grateful if you could sponsor me. With your help, I can reach my fundraising goal of £1,000 towards finding a cure for brain tumours and giving hope to those affected by this disease.

Thank you for reading my story. I want to do it for everyone who has been affected in any way, and maybe going through a similar journey to the one I continue to pursue - and probably will do for the rest of my life.

Best wishes

Richard