Fundraise Your Way: 24 hour virtual mountain challenge and Snowdon climb

Stage two bowel cancer patient and firefighter, Guy Dunkley from Oxfordshire, is fundraising his way by organising a 24 hour virtual mountain climb in April for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and a Snowdon climb in May with his colleagues at Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service.

Guy speaks to us about why he’s fundraising his way this April:

In November 2010, I was diagnosed with stage two bowel cancer.

Although the surgery went well and I didn’t need any further treatment, I wasn’t prepared for how weak I would feel. I’m more of a carer by nature, so it was really hard to ask for help. In particular during this time I have to thank my wife and three extraordinary friends who made my journey so much less difficult by chopping wood, washing, shopping and whatever other mundane, everyday tasks I couldn’t manage, as well as providing company and cheerful support. Rachel and these three selfless individuals made a huge difference to my life after surgery.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest killer in this country because people, like me, ignore symptoms until it’s too late. I cannot stress enough that if you are experiencing any symptoms at all, don’t hesitate for a single second to make an appointment with your GP. What have you got to lose?”

Following the recent news of another colleague diagnosed with bowel cancer, I have organised nine intrepid ladies from Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service to climb Mount Snowden. The team that are attempting the challenge are all support staff and although they provide an unsurpassed service, they do not engage in physically challenging day to day activities, so this will prove to be an extraordinary feat.

To support this team in their climb, we are issuing a challenge to all of the fire stations in Oxfordshire to take part in a 24 hour virtual mountain climb on inclined running machines. Fire fighters love a physical challenge, so we should get around 15-20 fire stations across the county getting involved. The station can choose any day during April, but once they pick a date, they only have that 24 hours to complete the distance.

Our station is running our event on 6 April, and we’ll also be selling cakes, running a book stall and various other fundraising activities on the day, as well as sharing information about bowel cancer and the charity.

We’ve set up a Just Giving page, and have raised over £3000 smashing our £1000 target. You can see all of our photos and updates on our Facebook Page.

Fundraise Your Way this Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

Guy’s helping to fundraise towards a future where nobody dies of bowel cancer. You can too by having a quiz night, hosting a coffee morning or by getting inspired from our A-Z of fundraising ideas.

Whatever you decide to do this April, we want you to be part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and raise funds to support our vital services and lifesaving research.

Guy is also supporting our #thisisbowelcancer campaign shining a light on the varied and many people affected by bowel cancer.

Join our campaign, write one word about yourself on a piece of white A4 paper or download and print our PDF template, take a photo and share it on social media with #thisisbowelcancer. Your word could be your hobby or your job or a way you describe yourself. It’s up to you.