Fundraiser packs his trunks to help raise money for cancer centre

A daring fundraiser is facing his fear of heights and open–water swimming to thank the cancer service that provided care and compassion to a close relative.

Ken Goddard has set himself an ambitious list of challenges to overcome this year as he looks to raise £5,000 for the South West Wales Cancer Centre (SWWCC) in Singleton Hospital, which provides care for Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda patients.

Top of the list is the Tenby Ironman event in September – a gruelling 2.4-mile swim following by a 112-mile cycle and 26.2-mile run.

Other challenges include a sky dive, abseiling and a hike up Penyfan mountain – and he’ll be doing them all wearing just a pair of trunks.

PICTURED: Ken Goddard with (from left) Cathy Stevens, Swansea Bay Health Charity; Josie Sainsbury, health care support worker; Sue Rowland, Chemotherapy Day Unit manager; Laura Watson, systemic anti-cancer therapy clinical nurse specialist and Carolyne Paddison, health care support worker.

His eye-catching fundraising efforts are part of his desire to highlight the fine work of the cancer centre, which cared for his aunty, Lucy Powell, who was diagnosed with breast and liver cancer.

It also marks World Cancer Day, which this year falls on Sunday, February 4.

Ken believes the efforts of the specialist centre gave his family more time to cherish with Lucy before she passed away.

Ken, whose partner Laura Watson works as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the cancer centre, said: “My aunty had breast cancer and beat that, but it returned in her liver and she bravely fought that for around six months before passing away a few years ago.

“If it wasn’t for the care and compassion of the staff in the cancer centre, then she may not have lived for as long as she did.

“The support given to us all at that difficult time was second to none, and for that I will always be grateful.

“My aunty was treated in Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli, but she also went to Singleton Hospital for treatment and they were absolutely fantastic.

“I have always wanted to raise money for the cancer centre to thank them for everything they did for my aunty, so I’ve drawn up an ambitious list of challenges to complete this year.”

Two of those challenges are already ticked off, with Ken having hiked up Penyfan mountain along with completing a quiz while sat in freezing water for ten minutes with popular YouTuber Geowizard.

Now he’s warming up for the rest of his to-do list, many of which see him conquer a few of his fears.

Ken said: “I’m not the best with heights, so jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet for a skydive and abseiling 418 feet down a building will help me conquer that.

“I’m petrified of open-water swimming too, so that element of the Ironman is going to be interesting to say the least, as well as running not being my favourite exercise, so I’m hoping to make some time up on the bike ride.

PICTURED: Ken Goddard is raising money for the cancer centre in memory of his aunty, Lucy Watson.

“I really wanted to do something different in terms of how I raise money, so I’ll also be doing some skiing and playing 72 holes of golf in just my trunks, along with a full body wax!”

The SWWCC is one of hundreds of individual funds that come under the umbrella of Swansea Bay Health Charity.

This is the health board’s official charity. Money raised is used for equipment, staff training, research and special projects for the benefit of our patients and staff, above and beyond what the NHS can provide.

Ken is no stranger to raising money for the health board, having donated £18,000 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in 2015 following a charity cycle ride from Amsterdam to Singleton.

He said: “My daughter Lillee was born 1lb 8oz at 28-and-a-half weeks. She was in NICU for eight-and-a-half weeks. If it wasn’t for NICU then she wouldn’t be here today.

“NICU and the cancer centre are services that you don’t realise how important they are until you need them.

“I raised a lot of money for NICU and now I hope to hit the £5,000 target for the cancer centre.”

You can donate to Ken’s fundraising total via his Justgiving page by clicking on this link.

If this story has inspired you to raise funds for your local NHS then Swansea Bay Health Charity would love to hear from you.

Email the charity team at: swanseabay.healthcharity@wales.nhs.uk.

Swansea Bay Health Charity (registered charity number 1122805) is the official charity of Swansea Bay University Health Board.

It plays a vital role in raising money for projects and activities that support patients, whilst it also supports a range of projects to improve the working conditions and support available to staff. 

Nearly all wards and departments have their own fund, which all come under the Swansea Bay Health Charity umbrella.

So if someone wants to give something back for the care they or a loved one has received, the charity ensures the funds raised will go directly there.

The charity does not replace NHS funding but uses generations donations received from patients, their families, staff and local communities to provide above and beyond what they NHS can provide.

To find out more, follow this link to the Swansea Bay Health Charity website.