A doctor is taking on a fundraising cycling challenge after a brain tumor forced him out of practice and forced him into a career in television.
On June 24, Dr. Stuart Farrimond of Trowbridge and his friend Mike Brooks will travel coast to coast on a tandem bicycle from Kent to Somerset.
After receiving a diagnosis of a brain tumor in 2008, the 41-year-old had to retire from practicing frontline medicine.
On Inside the Factory on BBC Two, he is referred to as the food scientist.
The two will leave Minster-on-Sea at around 04:20 BST and ride about 200 miles (322 km) to Weston-Super-Mare in an effort to get there before dark.
For brain tumor research, they want to raise £5,000 in total.
Dr Stu, as he is known on tv, had been a junior doctor for only three years when was diagnosed at the age of 25.
While he was employed by the Royal United Hospital in Bath, a scan to check for a hormone imbalance revealed the growth.
Two operations to remove the tumour left him with epilepsy and chronic fatigue, which forced him to leave the profession.
"After training for years to be a doctor for it to then be stripped from you. I lost part of my identity," he said.
Despite a third operation in 2019, he still had to go through radiotherapy and chemotherapy but was advised by health professionals to exercise as much as he could during treatment.
The brain tumour impacted his balance, depth perception and reactions, and a serious accident while out riding left him with a fractured jaw, eye socket and two broken teeth.
With solo outdoor cycling unsafe, he began to use an indoor bike and found that made a huge difference.
"Every morning and every evening, no matter how horrible I was feeling, I did 10 to 15 minutes - it was miraculous the effect that it had," Dr Stu said.
For the past few years he has been tandem cycling with Mr Brooks, which has given him the freedom to cycle outdoors again.
He added: "The fact that a brain tumour has the potential to impact every single faculty, vision, personality, speech and movement is massive and life-changing.
"It affects so many people and we must do more to bring brain tumour research in line with the advances in other cancers. ".
According to charity Brain Tumour Research, the disease kills more men under 70 than prostate cancer, but just 1 percent of cancer research spending has been allocated to it since records began in 2002.
Mel Tiley, community development manager at the charity, said: "We are grateful Stu has lent his voice and story to help us raise awareness of the disease.
"It's with the support of people like Stu, which will help us closer to finding a cure for all types of brain tumours. ".
