Surgeon sets off on charity cycle with son

The father and son duo will cycle with a team that includes some of Dr Furniss’s colleagues

A leading surgeon who spotted that his son had a rare and aggressive form of cancer which got him life-saving treatment has set off on a charity bike ride with him.

Dominic Furniss, professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Oxford University Hospitals, is cycling with Jasper from Oxford to Barcelona.

Jasper had a rare form of sarcoma, but is now in remission after successful surgery to remove the tumour four weeks after it was found.

He said: "Cycling has always been something me and my Dad have done together, it’s just been our thing."

He added: "That’s why it felt right to do this bike ride, because it’s like: 'I’m not going to let it stop me having this time with my Dad.'"

The father and son duo will cycle about 1,000 miles in 11 days with a team that includes some of Dr Furniss’s colleagues.

Dominic Furniss works at a sarcoma treatment centre and was immediately able to identify his son Jasper's tumour

Dr Furniss previously told the BBC that the moment his son, then 17, asked him to look at a lump on his thigh was "the worst moment of my life".

"It was a 7cm lump, looking like a large egg sticking out of his thigh, and it was deep. Immediately, I knew it was almost certainly sarcoma," he said.

"I can’t remember what I said to Jasper, but I then went into the bathroom and burst into tears.”

Dr Furniss, who works at one of the largest sarcoma treatment centres in the UK, said he immediately contacted a colleague and arranged a scan and biopsy for later that week.

Two weeks after finding the lump, Jasper was told he had myxoid liposarcoma.

There are an average of just 72 cases of this sarcoma subtype diagnosed per year in England, according to Sarcoma UK.

The cyclists will travel from Oxford to Barcelona, covering about 1,000 miles in 11 days

Jasper said he was determined to start exercising again as soon as he could after his surgery.

"I like to think I’ve always been quite fit. Suddenly to not be able to walk, to not be able to even push my leg down into the sofa, it was complete upheaval.

"I always set the goal of six weeks post-op, that was when the physiotherapist said I was allowed out on a run."

He said he wanted to raise awareness and money for Sarcoma UK on the bike ride because of the support they provided to his family.

Jasper was diagnosed within two weeks and had successful surgery four weeks after the lump was found