'Cancer hasn't stopped me from raising £300,000'

In 2009, Deb Gascoyne was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer and told she would likely not live to see her children grow up.

Seventeen years on, and still undergoing treatment, she is preparing to cycle 280 miles (450km) from London to Paris to raise money for a cancer charity.

Since her diagnosis, the 51-year-old has raised more than £250,000, and is hoping her latest challenge will push her total past £300,000.

"I never dreamed I would have this much time when I started treatment," said Gascoyne, from Hagley, Worcestershire. "I've hopefully defied the odds and will continue to do so for a long time."

Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a type of blood cancer which affects more than 33,000 people in the UK, according to Myeloma UK.

Although it can be controlled through treatment, it is a relapsing-remitting cancer, meaning it will return throughout a patient's life.

It primarily affects older people, but the mother-of-two was just 34 when she was diagnosed.

"It threw us into a real tailspin because our children were two and four at the time of diagnosis, and I didn't think I'd get to see them go to secondary school."

Supported by Myeloma UK, she and her husband met other patients with young families, many of whom have since passed away.

"They really inspired me to see that I didn't need to sink," she said. "That I could hold my head up and swim and do something positive with it all."

She began fundraising, starting off with small events like coffee mornings before completing her first London-Paris cycle ride in 2022.

On Thursday, she will set off on her bike to cross the Channel for the second time.

"The fundraising has been a bit of a lifeline to me, because it's kept me busy and it's meant I've had to keep positive about my situation," she said.

Accompanying Gascoyne on the journey this time will be her husband Nick and son Sam, 19, as well as other family members, fellow myeloma patients and their families, her consultant and two clinical nurses.

"She's so brave and inspirational," said her son, who added he does not remember his mum before her diagnosis.

"It's just phenomenal what she's done - £300,000 isn't a small amount of money."

Her husband said he was proud to support her.

"If you'd have said to me two years ago that we'd be doing nearly 300 miles to to Paris, I'd have laughed at you."

Gascoyne said she was expecting this attempt to be more challenging, as her ongoing treatment has affected her fitness since 2022.

But she added she was stubborn enough to complete the ride "whatever happens".

"Knowing that people have been so generous in their sponsorship makes you think: I've got to keep doing this," she said.

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