Cycling Brit fund-raiser for cancer reaches Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A British man, who is in remission from cancer for more than two years cycling around the world to raise funds for cancer patients, arrived in Istanbul on his way to China.

Luke Grenfell-Shaw, 27, first began cycling in January 2020 but had to return to England in March because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

He later restarted from Bristol in August and is now in Istanbul after crossing France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine.

He plans to visit other Turkish cities, including Ankara, eastern Mardin, Van and southeastern Gaziantep.

Grenfell-Shaw will make it to Central Asia through Georgia or Iran and finish his journey in China after passing through Pakistan and India.

With the slogan: “30 countries-30,000 kilometers-£300,000 ($408,000),” Grenfell-Shaw keeps followers informed about his travels on his social media accounts and those of non-governmental organizations that help cancer patients.

He is raising funds for five institutions and tells people he encounters about his experience with cancer while learning about new cultures and people.

The cyclist was diagnosed with sarcoma cancer at the age of 24 while teaching in Kyrgyzstan and said his life "totally changed" after his diagnosis.

“It was the last thing I expected to hear. It was very rare and very aggressive. And it was already advanced. I didn’t think I was going to see Christmas,” he said. “And that day was just utterly awful.”

He said he wanted to cycle the world if he had more time to live and it is what he now does.

“I think for me there is an attitude in here that for people get diagnosed with cancer it feels like a death sentence and that’s it,” he said, noting that patients can create new opportunities with existing ones.

“So one of the things I’m really passionate about this ride is supporting other people with cancer diagnosis and therefore, I’m fundraising for five charities in total,” said Grenfell-Shaw.

He said four charities are directly linked to cancer and helping patients become more active.

“We’re going to see if I can raise £10 ($13.6) for every kilometer cycled. So I’m aiming for £300,000," he said.

*Writing by Sena Guler