2:40pm Monday 15th March 2010
By James Connell
A WIDOWER who lost his wife to cancer has cycled hundreds of miles through Vietnam and Cambodia to raise money to help other women beat the disease.
Eddie Jones cycled in memory of his late wife Tina Clackson-Jones who battled breast cancer and died in July last year of secondary cancer.
The 49-year-old father-of-two of Eliot Road, Perdiswell, Worcester, cycled 326 miles (525km) from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) to Angkor Wat through beautiful countryside to raise money for the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign, a charity passionately supported by his wife before her death.
The cycle ride, organised by Breast Cancer Care, began on Saturday, February 13, and finished on Monday, February 22, taking Mr Jones through breathtaking landscape, dotted with French colonial buildings, Buddhist temples and ancient ruins.
Mr Jones, who cycled with a group of 12 other people, said: “It was very hot and humid and it was tough going sometimes.
“It was extremely emotional but also very rewarding. I just wanted to give something back.”
Mr Jones estimates he has raised between £2,000 and £3,000 but would still like more sponsorship which will all go towards creating a £2.5 million dedicated breast care unit at 220 Newtown Road on the Worcestershire Royal Hospital site in Worcester.
The new unit will mean breast care clinics can take place under one roof in a more pleasant and less clinical setting so patients can avoid the added stress of attending different clinics spread out throughout the main hospital.
Mr Jones said: “My wife was starting to get involved in the charity when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The new unit will make a huge difference. The staff are doing a difficult job because the service is spread around a big hospital. This will be all under one roof in a specialist unit. It’s more personal and it is such a personal thing for a woman to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
“My family has been very encouraging in helping me to raise money. People have been very generous.”
Mr Jones has been supported throughout his fund-raising by daughters 19-year-old Hollie and 15-year-old Bethan, by his wife’s sister Sue Hackett and her parents, Ken and Pam Clackson.
If you would like to donate money visit justgiving.com/ ed-jones0.
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