A cyclist who had nine hours of surgery to remove a tumour size of a golf ball from his brain is back on his bike, cycling 725 miles in a selection of sporting events this year.
In doing so, Paul Potter has raised more than £1,600 for three important charities; Cancer Research Wales, Brain Tumour Research and Macmillan Cancer Support.
During his challenge Paul spent a total of 56 hours 35 minutes in the saddle; cycled a total of 725.58 miles at an average speed of 12.7mph.
Eleven years ago, Paul was about to start treatment for prostate cancer when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Ten years before that, the dad of three had lost his wife to cancer at the age of 41 - leaving three young children aged just seven, nine and 11 at the time.
Warning signs for Paul, now aged 67, came in the form of regular and persistent sharp pains in his head, just behind his right eye. He had also become sensitive to light.
Paul was referred for an urgent MRI scan just before travelling to London to start radiotherapy.
When he arrived at hospital, he was advised that his treatment for prostate cancer would have to be halted, as the MRI scan had revealed a golf ball-sized tumour in his right frontal lobe.
Paul had a nine-hour craniotomy at Kings College Hospital to remove the tumour which was a was low-grade meningioma.
Paul stayed at the Simon Patient Lodge at St Thomas’ Hospital for two weeks before he was able to go home to Fishguard.
The following March he resumed the prostate cancer treatment and had 37 sessions of radiotherapy at the Singleton Hospital in Swansea.
A keen cyclist, Paul’s fundraising rides this year include the Daffodil Ride in Llandovery, three big Pembrokeshire bike rides and challenges on the Isle of Wight and in Cambridgeshire, Anglesey and Margam Park.
“Cancer has played a considerable part in my life, and the lives of other members of my family,” said Paul.
“I wanted to try to appeal to the general public to help me raise funds for the three nominated charities in order to help others who have suffered similar.”
Paul’s fundraising pages and bucket collections have raised a total of £1,615.
This will be distributed as follows; £570 to Brain Tumour Research, £590 to Cancer Research Wales and £458 to MacMillan Cancer Support.
“The donations received from so many people have spurred me on throughout this campaign,” said Paul.
“I would like to personally thank each and every one who has selflessly donated to such worthy cancer causes because without these generous funds, these cancer charities would not be able to continue to help support families, and research cancers, which inflict people and families in so many ways.
“Riding some of the challenging terrain the Welsh hills has only been undertaken knowing that what pain and suffering I may have been going through on my road bike pales into insignificance when compared to that experienced by families who have had to endure the agony of such an appalling disease as cancer.
“I hope that my small amount of donations raised will help empower more money to be channelled and directed to the various charities which are there to support those suffering, or who have suffered in the past.
“Along the way, I bolted on a couple of extra rides to support other local cancer charities, and it could have be fairly easy not to stop doing so, but I had to call a halt to it at some stage (as I don't think my knees could have taken much more pounding!), and to end riding a sportive in Pembrokeshire was a timely opportunity to do so.”
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