People & Lifestyle report, March 2006
| THEY
HIKED FOR HOPE
108 Hikers. £500,000 and rising. Hike for Hopers returned triumphant. By: Andrea Kon |
Clair Pattman did it in memory of her beloved late husband, John, who died of prostate cancer. The Reverend Stephen Barton not only survived prostate cancer but worked as the chaplain at a woman’s hospital where women’s cancers were treated daily. Andrew Etherington, another prostate cancer survivor, did it despite having suffered a stroke just a month earlier.
As for urological nurse Kate Holmes, who works with prostate disease sufferers. “I have seen many clinical advances funded as a result other people’s efforts at fund-raising, so I felt the time had come for me to do my bit,” says Kate, who works at the Prostate Centre in Wimpole Street in central London, run by Professor Roger Kirby, Chairman of the Prostate Research Campaign UK’s Trustees. And so excited was she by the project that she inspired five friends to join her on the five day trek.
| Andrew Etherington | Clair Pattman | Kate Holmes and friend | Stephen Barton and three friends |
It appears that every one of the gallant 108 trekkers who set out on March 12th had a personal reason for joining the Hike for Hope. They walked 82 kms from the Dead Sea in Jordan, across deserts, through mountains, braving the heat of sandy days and the frosty desert nights, sleeping in Bedouin tents or under the stars. They survived without washing, on a diet consisting mainly of chicken, rice, pita bread and hummus, their only running “showers” being icy waterfalls.
For the full story visit www.hikeforhopejordan.co.uk
The first ever Hike for Hope was a unique joint fund-raising project for Prostate Research Campaign UK and Wellbeing of Women, which funds research into gynaecological diseases. And under the leadership of Consultant Urologist and PRC UK Chairman of Trustees, Professor Roger Kirby, his fellow trustee Dr Peter Amoroso, and their counterpart, Mr Marcus Setchell, the Queen’s gynaecologist and Chairman of Trustees for Wellbeing of Women, the Hike for Hopers raised an astonishing £500,000 to swell the coffers of the two charities, and the money is still pouring in. As a result, both will be able to fund new research projects. Prostate Research Campaign has already given away £500,000 towards new projects during the last few months.
“I was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 52,” explains the Rev Stephen Barton who worked as chaplain at Birmingham‘s Women‘s Hospital before his retirement.. He signed up after reading an advertisement in The Times and personally raised £8,000 for the charities. “I underwent radiotherapy to treat the disease three years ago. That was not totally successful so I have been taking other drugs ever since. I have had so much help from other people, and seen so much suffering in my work as a chaplain, that I felt I had to walk for both these charities. Research is vital if we are to conquer these diseases.
“The trek was filled with incredible experiences,” he says. “On the first day, we were joined at a hotel for a magnificent lunch by a princess of the Jordanian Royal family, who have invested a great deal of money in cancer care. We walked 18 miles a day on average but the organisation was brilliant. There were astounding views along the way, but none so astounding as our first glimpse of Petra. We rounded a corner in the valley and there ahead of us was a vast monument carved into the rock-face. The al-Deir or Monastery.
“When we left Petra through the narrow gorge, we were welcomed into the village with commemorative medallions and champagne. My first stop was at the Turkish Bath. After four days of dust and sweat and no showers, the man who scrubbed me clean delighted in showing me how much dirt he got off my body - and I was shamelessly pleased he did it so efficiently.”
Clair Pattman, who decided she needed a challenge to help her celebrate her 60th birthday also picked the ad out from The Times. The mother-of-two from Cambridge Road, whose beloved husband John died of prostate cancer at the age of 52 in 1999, raised £5,000 before she set off. She says: “The Hike had my name written on it. I felt I couldn’t NOT do it. I didn’t know anyone else before we left, but that didn’t matter. You soon bond. It was a mind-blowing experience. I floated in the Dead Sea, which is horribly slimy on the bottom. We took a three hour jeep ride through Wadi Rum, the location for Laurence of Arabia, visiting caves and seeing how the Bedouins live. For five nights, I slept under the stars, preferring that to listening to all the others in the women’s tent snoring! We woke with ice on our sleeping bags but it was wonderful.”
Andrew Etherington, 69, was diagnosed with prostate cancer seven years ago. It’s done nothing to dampen his love of adventure. Since then the retired banker, who lives in Wimbledon, has combined his love of tackling new exploits with a determination to raise money for research into prostate disease. He’s already run the London Marathon three times, scaled Kilimanjaro and Kinabalu in Borneo and walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall. When he suffered a stroke four weeks before the Hike for Hope was due to set off, it seemed he’d blown his chances. He temporarily lost use in his right arm and leg and the eye sight in his left eye was affected.
But doctors reckoned without Andrew’s physical fitness (he has jogged between five and 10 miles a day for years) and without his iron spirit. After just a week in hospital, he was back out jogging and when his neurologist heard that there would be several doctors and nurses among the hikers, they agreed he’d be well looked after. And despite all his problems, he managed to raise £2,500 for the charities.”
Whether their most special moment was in Wadi Rum, coming across the Rose Red City from the Monastery or sleeping under the stars, one thing is for sure. The Prostate Research Campaign UK “team” did us proud. And with just another two months to go before the launch of the next Hike for Hope on June 2, they’re sharpening the spikes on their walking boots already.
Despite having hit the £half-a-million mark, Hike for Hope is still gratefully accepting donations. You can find a place to donate on the Home page on this Website. Or send a cheque to Hike for Hope, c/o Prostate Research Campaign UK, 10 Northfields Prospect, Putney Bridge Road, London SW18 1PE.