Floyd Swift raises over £3,000 for Cancer Relief Gibraltar

Floyd Swift has completed his four challenges for 2024 for Cancer Relief Gibraltar and has raised over £3,100 in the process.

This is his third year of challenges which he does in memory of his mother Rose Brashier (née Porro) and stepfather Graham who lost their battles with cancer.

He didn’t do all of it solo, he did them with some help from his friends.

This year, he started with a spinathon outside St Bernard’s Hospital, plus a raffle and a bake sale, on April 4 raising £1665.59 and €39.90.

“The spinathon at St Bernard’s hospital was great fun, we had lots of amazing local artists who sang beautifully and we had a lot of cake whilst we cycled.”

“Although the cake sold out so quickly thanks to the public who came by,” he told the Chronicle.

After this, he completed the Med Steps Challenge of five laps of the Med Steps on April 20.

“The Med Steps 5 was tough, it’s always tough but for some reason this year I ached more,” he said.

“Another great event that isn’t only hard on the legs but on your mental toughness to continue to get to the top after finishing four laps.”

“One important thing I took from Med Steps 5, I think people can agree, is that we just need to take one step at a time and focus on moving forward to get to where we are going,” he added.
Next, he and his friends did a sky dive at 15,000ft in Seville on April 27.

“The sky dive was an incredible experience and I encourage anyone reading to do one,” he said.

“This was a true battle of mental toughness as not everyone would gain the courage to sky dive.”

“The feeling of falling out of a plane didn’t feel real and it was so cold up there. All this has done is made me want to get my skydiving licence to I can do it on my own.”

“Definitely something I will be doing again. Big thank you to my team who jumped with me: Jarai, Damien, Eilen, Natalie and Belle,” he added.

And finally, last weekend, he did his ‘Around the Rock Challenge’ on May 4.

This element of the challenge involved cycling around the Rock, run around the Rock, up the Med Steps and finishing with a dip in the sea at Camp Bay.

“This is the challenge I started 3 years ago when I began to raise to funds for Cancer Relief, so it seemed fitting to end this year’s challenges with something I started with,” he said.

“The Around the Rock is a mini triathlon that involves Med Steps as part of the run. The day was beautiful and water at Camp Bay was very freshening. I’d love to try and organise this as a larger event in the next few years to come.”

He added that, overall, the challenges have been an excellent opportunity to bring the community together.

He thanked the GHA, Mayor Carmen Gomez, Minister for Health Gemma Arias-Vasquez, Radio Gibraltar and everyone who supported him by donating or participating in the challenges.

“It’s the goodwill and support of the community that allows us to support charities such as Cancer Relief,” he said.

“Everyone is affected by cancer one way or another. Unfortunately, there is no cure for cancer yet. So I cannot stress how important it is to regularly self-examine and have routine check-ups with your GP. The sooner cancer is found the more likely it is to be treated.”

He also noted that it is also important to remember that cancer comes in many forms and, for some people, this may be hard to identify.

“So my advice would be if something does not feel right, or if there’s been a change, please go get it checked.”

Mr Swift started to fundraise for cancer charities when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. She passed away 10 years later in April 2021.

Sadly, shortly after she passed, so did Mr Swift’s stepfather, Graham, when he lost his battle with a rare brain cancer.

Mr Swift chose Cancer Relief Gibraltar as the charity to raise funds for because of his personal experience caring for his mother during her battle with cancer.

He witnessed firsthand the importance of support during such difficult times and wanted to help others facing similar challenges.

“Cancer affects one in two people in their lifetime. The Cancer Relief Centre play a major role in Gibraltar helping those who are battling cancer and even those who have been affected by it,” he said.

In between all of the challenges, he also donated blood and he would encourage people to donate blood when they can.

Highlighting how important it is for cancer patients, he said: “Whilst my mum was battling cancer she would be dependent on blood transfusions.”

“These transfusions really made a difference to her day and allowed her to get by.”

“I recently donated blood and it didn’t take more than 10 minutes. So if you can, please donate.”

Donate via: https://www.justgiving.com/page/floyd-swift-1710190664548