Cancer survivor sets wheels in motion for mass bike ride

Danny Porter, from Millhouses in Sheffield, has teamed up with Claremont Hospital’s sport medicine and performance centre and the Out of the Saddle cycling club, which is organising a bike ride through the Peak District on Saturday, October 16 in aid of the Danny Porter Foundation.

Mr Porter, who has two young sons, was told in 2005 that he had a rare facial tumour known as adenoid cystic carcinoma.

The 38-year-old endured a complex 20-hour operation, which led to the loss of his right eye, and then underwent successful radiotherapy treatment at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield.

After his treatment, he set up the Danny Porter Foundation to raise funds for research, support, care and equipment for people suffering from cancer or requiring neurological surgery, with proceeds going to Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, Neurocare and other local causes.

So far, the Porter family have donated £60,000 to the foundation’s chosen charities.

In the latest fundraiser, cyclists will be able to tackle either a 50k or 100k circular route from Claremont Hospital in Sheffield through the Peak District and back to the hospital.

Mr Porter, who is head of sport services at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “My diagnosis came completely out of the blue, but I vowed to take the cancer on and beat it.

“My dad once gave me a piece of advice that I hadn’t really seen the true meaning of before I had cancer – it’s not what happens in life that’s important, it’s how you deal with it.

“I was incredibly lucky to have the support of all my family and friends and I would have found it really difficult without them.”

Entries for the charity bike ride are £25 per person, with all proceeds going to the Danny Porter Foundation.