UPDATE: Thank you for all your donations! I have decided that I will attempt the challenge again from Saturday 15th March. If you could share and donate, we can make a difference together.

On Saturday 8th March Matthew Lee will embark upon an incredibly difficult feat when he attempts to do the equivalent of swimming the Channel to raise money for the fabulous Christie in memory of his late wife Rachel who tragically passed away at just 52 years of age.

Matthew was formerly the Lottery Manager at Stockport County where he is an avid fan and currently helps the club on match days by organising the Half Time draw which brings tens of thousands of pounds into the club each season. This challenge will represent the most difficult challenge of Matthew’s Life due to his disabilities.

Matthew was born in 1973, four weeks early and weighing just 4lb. He was born with Cerebral Palsy, typically caused by damage to the brain caused before or during birth. As a result Matthew suffers with a deformity of the hips and left knee. From a very early age he was told he would never be able to walk. At the age of two Matthew’s parents took him to see a private consultant called Dr David Markham who pledged to get him walking.

A succession of operations followed and at just four years of age Matthew was in plaster from his upper chest to his feet leaving him immobile. The only parts of his body not in plaster were his head, arms and feet.

Thankfully his creative Dad made a modified skateboard which Matthew could lie on and get around. Almost miraculously Matthew was able to walk albeit with a very pronounced limp as due to the complex surgery his left leg is two inches shorter than his right.

Matthew then permanently dislocated his elbow during a car journey and ended up suffering with seizures following a road accident in 1987. In 2000 Matthew had to have major surgery known as medial displacement pelvic Osteotomy. This left him on crutches for 12 weeks and recovering for a further 6 months.

Six years later he was back under the knife for a full hip replacement. In 2017 Matthew experienced overnight sight loss and had visual impairment lasting around three months. His Doctor diagnosed this the result of stress, warning that further stress could result in a stroke or heart attack. Following his Doctors advice he ended is career in lottery fundraising, during which he helped to raise millions of pounds for Charity, and started his own business.

Despite his personal difficulties and physical disabilities Matthew completed a half marathon and raised over £8,000 for the Christie in memory of his late wife Rachel.

Now he is embarking on a highly ambitious challenge, swimming 21 miles, the equivalent of swimming across the English Channel. He is being supported by the management and staff at Nuffield Health Gym in Parrswood where Matthew is a member. He has been provided with a designated lane to embark upon his challenge which will take more than a week to complete.

He is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for the Christie to support their tireless work in the field of cancer treatment, care and research. If you are able to support Matthew in his incredible quest it would be greatly appreciated.

Tragically Matt lost his lovely wife Rachel to a very rare cancer in February 2022. Specialists found a 24cm tumour and Rachel was diagnosed with Mucinous Ovarian cancer for which there is no cure.

A senior consultant at The Christie, Dr Hassan, who treated Rachel is now looking to raise money to try and find a cure for this devastating form of cancer.

Matt has decided to embark upon the biggest challenge of his life to support the work of Dr Hassan and in the memory of his dear wife.

On Saturday 8th March Matt will aim to swim the equivalent of the English Channel (21 miles) at 3 miles a day for 7 consecutive days at Nuffield Health to raise money for Dr Hassan’s work in trying to find a cure.

It will be a huge task for Matt but his determination is as strong as ever.

He wants to raise as much money as possible in memory of his lovely wife Rachel and to support The Christie and in particular Dr Hassan.

In Matt’s words “I completely understand that we are all in very difficult financial times but if you can give anything no matter how small to help me raise funds I would be overjoyed.

It would mean the world to myself and the family. By attempting this I hope it gives people and families hope that what seems impossible can be achieved. Never stop believing!!”

A message from Dr Hasan; my sincere thanks and gratitude for your donation to the ovarian cancer research fund. It is through the generosity of our patients, their families and friends that we are able to continue our work into developing new treatments for ovarian cancer and supporting our patients along their cancer journey. Rachel would have been proud of your efforts. My best wishes for your future endeavours and I look forward to meeting you.

More research is being done, into bowel obstruction this is funded mainly by donations from supporters of the Christie. Patients with Bowel obstruction have an average life expectancy of three months.

Research is looking at the cause of blockages and trying to prevent them when there is a better understanding of how these blockages happen the Christie team then hope to treat the cause of the blockage.

Your support is vital to aid more research to improve life expectancy short to medium term, with the goal eventually meaning Mucinous Cancer is treatable and not life limiting.

For press information, please contact: steve.bellis@stockportcounty.com

Please Support!!!