Fulham cyclist with incurable breast cancer sets up the One More City campaign to raise funds for research

BY YANN TEAR
yann@slpmedia.co.uk

A woman who suffered a seizure while cycling in central London has inspired more than 30 cyclists to complete the latest leg of a “never-ending” bike ride across Europe.

Christine O’Connell, 46, from Fulham, is living with incurable secondary breast cancer – a condition that kills thousands of women in the UK every year.

Determined to support further research, Christine set up a remarkable cycling campaign – One More City – which sees dozens of fundraisers pedal from city to city each year.

The campaign aims to raise £80,000 for Imperial Health Charity to fund additional research led by specialists at Hammersmith Hospital.

On October 4, Christine and the One More City team set off from Amsterdam and pedalled almost
450 miles over four days before reaching their destination in Strasbourg, France.

It marks the third step in the campaign’s “never-ending” journey after a team cycled from London to Paris in 2017 and then from Paris to Amsterdam last year.

Christine O’Connell said: “The ethos of One More City is that the journey is never over. We are always progressing towards the next city, there are always more climbs to conquer and more challenges to face.

“Just like anyone living with secondary breast cancer, for whom the challenge is never over – there are
always more treatments to endure, more scans to face, more side effects to manage.”

Business consultant Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2012 and treated throughout the following year.

Having made excellent progress on normal hormone treatments, she believed she was in the clear.

But last year she was shocked to discover her cancer had returned after she experienced a seizure while cycling in central London.

Doctors told her the cancer had spread, causing a brain tumour which triggered the seizure. Since then Christine has received aggressive treatment to fight the spread of her cancer and she is on a targeted drug regime.

The money raised from the One More City campaign will be donated to Imperial Health Charity in order to fund an additional PhD student supporting a team of breast surgeons, oncologists and scientists at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Based at Hammersmith Hospital, the team is led by Professor Charles Coombes, Professor Simak Ali and Dr Suzy Cleator, who aim to discover new therapies to treat resistant forms of recurrent breast cancer as well as developing more personalised treatments.

Christine said: “Early diagnosis provides the best chance for survival as the disease is curable in most
people at this stage.

However, an estimated 20 to 30 per cent of primary cancers spread to other organs, and at this point the cancer is no longer curable.

Those diagnosed with secondary cancer will spend the rest of their lives on some form of treatment.”

The team of 30 cyclists completed the Amsterdam to Strasbourg leg over tree days, pedalling through five countries before reaching their destination on October 7.

More than £63,000 has so far been raised towards the campaign.

To support Christine and the One More City team, go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/onemorecity