28 October 2023 , 10:45
379
0
A dad-of-three who is battling terminal brain cancer is set to complete his 200-mile bike ride from Buckinghamshire to Paris.
Robert Seaward, 37, hopes his journey will give others with cancer "hope". Born in South Africa and living in the UK for 22 years, Mr Seaward came up with the idea while watching a Rugby World Cup match between South Africa and England.
The dad, who lives in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, used to run his own electrical contracting business until he had a seizure earlier this year. "Doctors found a brain tumour and I went overnight from being a fit and healthy 37-year-old dad to being terminally ill and told I've got five to ten years left to live," Mr Seaward said. "My little girl was only five at the time and I thought, I couldn't leave her that young, so anything I could do to extend those times, I would do."
He said he did not want to leave his young daughter so soon, so he decided to do anything he could to extend his life. His surgery in March was supposed to remove 70 per cent of the tumour, but they managed to take out 96 per cent. "That blew my mind," he said. The operation started at 11am and finished at 8pm, he explained.
Robert Seaward said he hopes the challenges inspires others with cancer to feel hopeful (PA)After his surgery, he underwent radiotherapy for about a month, followed by chemotherapy. He shared that he has three more rounds of chemo to go through. Watching South Africa play against England in the Rugby World Cup match last week made him reflect on "how lucky" he was to have had a "successful" operation and how he could assist others battling cancer.
Warning as popular food and drink ‘increase risk of cancer death by up to 30%’
"Some don't come out of surgery at all and others may have complications," he noted. "I thought I needed to make something positive from that to help other people as well, and a bike ride came to my mind."
To make the ride possible, he looked for tour operators, and happened across Challenge Central, who were happy to facilitate his adventure. He started the cycle at around 9am on Thursday morning in Marlow where he rode around 100 miles to Newhaven, in East Sussex, before catching a ferry to Dieppe, in Normandy, France.
Robert Seaward with his wife Shelley and their three children (PA)On Friday morning, he was back on his bike, where he rode to Beauvais, in northern France, and is set to end his challenge in Paris on Saturday at around 3.30pm having cycled around 200 miles. He said one of the most challenging parts was contending with a huge hill in Beacon, near Brighton.
"It was pitch black and it was freezing and I could sense the impatience of the cars behind me," he said. However, on the flipside, he said the messages he has received from those with cancer has made his challenge feel all the more worthwhile.
"I've got messages from two people who've been diagnosed recently with cancer themselves and say that I've given them hope," he said. "That makes me emotional if I can help someone else, that's what I did it for really."
Robert with his daughter Esme (PA)
He had surgery in March (PA)He has raised close to £4,000 for charity Brainstorm, to facilitate its work in brain cancer research. Moreover, he said that "more importantly", he wanted to help others undergoing chemotherapy. "I wanted to show other people that chemotherapy is not something you have to be scared of," he said.
"I'm on chemotherapy literally on Thursday night, I took my chemotherapy pills after riding 100 miles in a day. I'm just trying to give people hope." Look at me, I'm on chemotherapy and I'm literally (cycling) to Paris with no bike riding experience."
Mr Seaward's fundraising page can be found here.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]