Richard's ride over cancer / D2W / Round the Island / Canalside Walk challenge

I am raising money for the following cancer charities: Cancer Research UK; NOMAN is an island: Race to end HPV (Haute Route charity partner); and Dorothy House Hospice Care. For CRUK donate using the link on this page. NOMAN: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Richard-BUTTERFIELD21 Dorothy House: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/richard-butterfield3 I continue to fund all event and travel costs myself – all donations go directly to the selected charities. My Story (updated 6th June 2022) Hi, I’m Richard Butterfield. I’m 54 and married with 3 children. I’ve worked for Amey for 10 years and I’m a long-term Cancer Research UK supporter – helping my mum collect door to door when I was younger and then donating monthly when I started working. I didn’t know much about cancer as a child, other than it was a scary disease and I thought it would be a good idea to get rid of it. Now I'm more aware than most about cancer, and I still think the same. I’m also a lifelong athlete, competing in distance running and triathlon events when I was in my teens, but focussing on bike racing ever since, competing in road races in the UK and overseas. In July 2018 I competed in the Haute Route Alps. Billed as “the world’s toughest amateur cycle race” the event started in Megeve in Switzerland, crossing the Alps and ending in Nice some 800km and 20,000m of vertical ascent later – basically 7 consecutive Tour de France stages. In July 2019 I faced a different kind of challenge when I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Instead of taking on the climbs of the Alps, I ended up having 3 surgeries and 30 sessions of radiotherapy. Then in March 2020 I discovered that the cancer had spread to my lungs so as soon as the initial stages of the COVID pandemic had calmed down I spent July to December undergoing 6 cycles of palliative chemotherapy. In 2021 I attempted to get back on track and Ride Over Cancer. I wanted to give hope to people living with cancer that life isn’t over after treatment, though it can sometimes be a little harder, or a little shorter. I was also hoping to raise awareness of the need to get an early diagnosis – it really could make a difference. I was planning to undertake all of the European Haute Route events. That’s: • Crans-Montana, Switzerland – June, 3 days, 220km, 8,300m Vertical Ascent • Pyrenees, Spain – July, 5 days, 600km, 15,000m Vertical Ascent • Alps, France – August, 7 days, 800km, 22,000m Vertical Ascent • Dolomites, Italy – September, 5 days, 400km, 14,000m Vertical Ascent • Ventoux, France – October, 3 days, 270km, 7,900m Vertical Ascent In the end I had to skip the Pyrenees because at the beginning of July I had to have brain surgery on a malignant tumour. I still completed the other 4, and was on the start line of the Haute Route Alps only 7 weeks after brain surgery. I also completed the Camino de Santiago from home, by bike, which added another 1000km and 12,000 m of climbing to the tally. As we entered 2022 I had Gamma Knife treatment for recurring brain mets, and some radiotherapy on my left side to try to counteract a collapsed lung. I was also having immunotherapy on a 4-weekly basis but the treatment was not successful so it's ended. My further treatment options are limited to trials of experimental cancer therapies involving some pretty toxic drugs so I'm a bit pessimistic about the future. However I have kept my charity pages open as I seemed to have generated some momentum and on 10th-14th March myself and Geoff Colenso paddled from Devizes to Westminster, supported by Nick Ash and Tony Magee. And then on 28-29th March I joined Steve Lee, Ben Turner, Jeremy Gale, and Ian Rogers on a bike ride from Frome to Lymington, crossing to Yarmouth and taking in a lap of the Isle of Wight before returning to Frome - a total distance of 335km. For this endeavour Sean McCabe had the dubious honour of providing support! Right now my health is not so good and I get breathless due to the tumours growing in my lungs. I had a stent fitted in April to clear my left bronchus which was completely blocked. I was able to do a short bike ride a few days after the operation but I think that was the last time I'll ever cycle. I'm no longer a candidate for further systemic treatment because I'm not well enough so for now I'm just reduced to daily walks of just over a mile, and then lots of rest. Unfortunately there is no happy ending to this story. Thank you for reading my story, and for your support, Richard. #cancerresearchUK #nomancampaign #dorothyhouse #hauteroute