Stephen’s Land’s End to John O’Groats Challenge
After Penny Brohn UK supported his wife, following her cancer diagnosis in 2010, Stephen Rosser wanted to give back. He’s taken on countless challenges, now heads up the Board as Chair of Trustees, but is about to take on his biggest challenge yet; cycling over 1000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats with son, George.
Can you talk to us about Joanne’s diagnosis?
Joanne was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2010, so almost 13 years now. There’s never going to be a good time, but it came at the moment I’d just taken over as CEO at Clarke Wilmott Solicitors, which was consuming a lot of my time. We had teenage children, one at university and one doing their A Levels. So, there was already a lot going on in our home lives. But the moment we received her diagnosis, I knew that my full attention needed to turn to Joanne. She was the priority.
Going through treatment took a real toll on her. She underwent both chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC), and it was grueling. It was towards the end of her NHS treatment that we were introduced to Penny Brohn UK. Someone at BHOC mentioned them to us and Joanne was keen to get in touch to find out how they could support her in a different way to live well.
What was it about Penny Brohn UK that made a difference to Joanne?
From the get-go the Penny Brohn UK team helped Joanne massively. She was able to talk to other people outside of the family, who were going through a similar situation and knew exactly how she was feeling. She was able to go to the National Centre in Pill and get in-person support and advice on how to eat well, exercise and really feel well, and that really resonated with her.
It didn’t just make a difference to Joanne though, but to us all as a family too. For her to have an outlet to turn to, and a place she could go to unburden some of the thoughts and feelings that we couldn’t understand was vital. She made some really dear friends through the online sessions and retreats she attended, sadly one of whom is no longer with us. But the memories she made with people who initially were a group of strangers are still very strong and will stay with her forever.
She stayed in touch with Penny Brohn UK after her remission, joining the Penny Brohn UK Choir which gave her another outlet to work through her emotions and feelings.
So why was it important for you to fundraise for Penny Brohn UK?
When a vacancy came up in 2012 for a Trustee position, I was keen to get involved and be able to give back in some small way as payment for the support Joanne received. Then I became Chair of Trustee’s just as the Pandemic was hitting, which was a very tricky time for everyone.
Over the years we’ve taken on a number of challenges; Stomp, I’ve run the London Marathon and various half marathons, but I always wanted to do something bigger that we organized ourselves.
I’ve always had a love of cycling, and my son, George, told me I needed to do a take on a big challenge like Lands End to John O’Groats before I get too old! We were originally meant to do it last April but unfortunately George broke his ankle in a skiing accident not long before. But there’s a silver lining in there, it’s given us a lot more chance to train and we both feel ready for the challenge ahead – I’ve actually just come back from a 29-mile ride this morning!
What are you looking forward to most about the challenge?
There’s over 1000 miles to take on, with our aim to hit an average of 80 miles a day over the 13 days. We looked at a variety of routes, but we chose this one as it means we’ll get to ride through the Scottish Highlands and cycle round Loch Ness which is destined to be a beautiful leg.
Planning and support for the route has been logistically pulled together ourselves. Joanne and Bertie (our dog) will be following as our dedicated support crew on the trip in our trusty campervan, and we’ve booked a few hotels on the route to allow us to rest up in a bed and have access to some of the ‘mod cons’ – a shower at the end of each day will be a must!
We’ve also got a couple of ‘special guests’ joining us for various legs along the way – my nephew is joining in the South, and George’s boss will be tagging along in Scotland. It’ll be really nice to experience these moments with others and they’ll be able to provide some much-needed change of conversation and words of encouragement – the father and son relationship is sure to be tested over 13 days in the saddle!
How can people follow your progress?
We’ve built a mini website where people can track our movements every ‘peddle’ of the way. You can view this using the link below. George will inevitably be sharing our progress on Instagram, which will be shared on the Penny Brohn UK account as much as possible – make sure to follow @PennyBrohnUK for all the updates.
We are obviously looking to raise as much money as possible over the course of the next couple of weeks, and have been blown away with the response and generosity of everyone so far. You can donate by visiting our JustGiving page.
We’d like to thank Stephen for sharing their experience. The words used are preferred by Stephen. Penny Brohn UK encourages everyone to use their own words to tell their story. If you have any questions about any of the language used, please email comms@pennybrohn.org.uk.
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