Bowel cancer charity challenge raises more than £17k

Mark Butcher (L) and David Champion (R) are lifelong best friends

A man with terminal bowel cancer who is dedicating his time to supporting other people with the condition has raised more than £17,000 for two charities.

Mark Butcher and David Champion, from Westbury in Wiltshire, organised a 15-hour workout challenge in aid of St Peter's Hospice and Bowel Cancer UK.

Last Saturday, 80 people participated in what was dubbed "The Mother Of All Workouts" at Kokoro Fitness in Bristol.

"We’ve turned probably the most negative situation into one of the most positive situations," Mr Butcher said.

The challenge began at 04:00 BST, and each workout throughout the day had a "meaningful" connection to Mr Butcher - relating to his age, family, or the past two-and-a-half-years since his diagnosis.

"Everyone was going at 100%," Mr Butcher said of the challenge

The 45-year-old had "zero symptoms" before he was diagnosed with the disease in November 2021.

Last June, he underwent a gruelling 15-hour operation to remove the cancerous cells in his body.

The procedure is dubbed "the mother of all surgeries" by some medical professionals, due to how risky and invasive it is.

The lifelong friends came up with the idea of the continuous workout following on from the surgery.

“Everyone remarks that [the workout] was not a walk in the park," Mr Champion said. "It was meant to be hard."

"What Mark has been through has not been easy, so we wanted to show that," he added.

Mr Butcher said: “Everyone was going at 100%. There were no half measures.

“I was looking at them going ‘you guys are amazing’, but they were almost playing it down and reciprocating the same messages to me, whilst I was playing down what I’ve done.

“I don’t feel like I’ve done anything special in the last two-and-a-half-years.

"I’ve just tried to do everything I can to be around for as long as I can."

More than 80 people participated in the charity challenge

Both men said they have been left feeling "energised and enthused" from the experience.

Mr Butcher said he is particularly proud at how far his story has spread, with strangers from across the country reaching out to share their direct and indirect experiences with cancer.

“The money is clearly important and much needed, but I think the awareness is key.

"People think it’ll be our parents, it’ll be older people - but it’s not. It's young people too."

He added that St Peter's Hospice - which is already supporting him and his family - is a "key resource" in the community.

"We’ve been through a hell of a lot together over 34 years of friendship," Mr Butcher said

The money will be divided, with 75% of proceedings going to the hospice, whilst the remaining 25% will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK.

Mr Butcher said: "Every single penny will be maximised."

Mr Champion said: “Seeing what good people can do is a very rare thing.

"I never realised how much help this would give to so many people. I feel lucky to have been a part of it.

"I’ll never forget it, ever."