Cancer fighter set to take on USA bike ride
AFTER spending his childhood in hospital with chronic kidney problems and early adulthood battling cancer, it’s remarkable that Richard Salisbury is so fit and healthy as he approaches 40.
He is set to do something incredible to mark the milestone - ride more than 3,000 miles across America.
Richard will take on the challenge with a team of cancer survivors. If they succeed, they will become world record holders.
Richard has come a long way.
He spent his early years in and out of hospital, having been born with a deformed kidney and bladder.
Medics eventually figured out his system was wired incorrectly and that waste was filtering back to his kidney.
Then, at the age of 21, Richards was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, after a tumour was found.
It spread to so much of his body – his chest, arms and groin - that doctors didn’t think he would survive.
Richard underwent 12 months of gruelling chemotherapy and 12 weeks of radiotherapy.
“It was tough,” he said. “I was very up and down with the treatment. I went through plenty of dark times.
“As a family during that time, after everything I went through as a kid, our attitude was ‘we will get on with it, and come out of the other side’.”
In 2007, following further surgery to his heart and chest, Richard was given the all clear – a moment he described as ‘amazing’.
Richard, director of cycling injury specialists Pedal Precision, is determined to prove cancer survivors can do incredible things.
That’s why he’s taking on the Race Across America, dubbed the world’s toughest bike race, with fellow cancer survivors Mike Grisenthwaite, Kevin Musgrave, and Carol Sheehan.
They plan to cycle 3,100 miles as a non-stop relay team, aiming to finish within seven days. The event will take place on June 16.
The team will be raising money for Cyclists Fighting Cancer, which supports children and young people with the disease.