A cancer survivor is believed to have become the second fastest New Zealander to swim the English Channel in an effort to raise money for childhood cancer research.
Callum Eade, of Invervargill, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2011 but after winning his battle, discovered a new relationship with Tour de Cure - a charity focused on fundraising for cancer research through cycling tours.
It gave Eade an "incredible experience", but he wanted to do something bigger.
"After completing 16 Ironman triathlons as well as over 30 Half Ironman races, I [was] ready for a new and exciting challenge," Eade said on his campaign's website .
He set himself the task of swimming the English Channel. While preparing for the swim, Eade and his wife also decided to try and raise $100,000 towards cancer research, eventually settling on "the very challenging and important field of children’s cancer" for where they wanted that money to go.
"We want to help find a cure for DIPG. DIPG, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, is a tumour located in the pons [middle] of the brain stem. Glioma is a general name for any tumour that arises from the supportive tissue called glia, which help keep the neurons in place and functioning well. DIPG is a brainstem glioma," Eade said.
"A child diagnosed with DIPG today faces the same prognosis as a child diagnosed 40 years ago. There is still no effective treatment and no chance of survival. Only 10 per cent of children with DIPG survive for two years following their diagnosis, and less than 1 per cent survive for five years."
Eade said "every penny that we raise" would go towards DIPG research.
Eade completed his swim on Sunday with a reported time of 10 hours and 56 minutes - the second fastest New Zealander behind Philip Rush - and has raised $116,800 so far.
Eade said upon achieving the feat he wants others to "dream big".
"I am eternally grateful to my boat crew, my beautiful wife and family, and the hundreds of people that have supported my swim and our cause around the world," he said.
"The stories and and memories will last for years."
If you would like to donate to Eade's efforts, you can do so here .
SHARE ME