Something Personal

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I've been running this community for years and shared pretty much everything about my riding life with you all. But there's something I've never talked about publicly...

In 2019, my son Kayden was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was 14 years old.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. It was the hardest thing our family has ever been through. He went on to have proton beam therapy in 2024 and thankfully he's doing well now. But with brain tumours you never really get that clean "all clear" moment. You just hope for the best and keep going.

We were lucky. Not every family is. Brain tumour research is still massively underfunded compared to other cancers, and better treatments only come from better research.

So I'm raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity. They're the UK's leading charity funding research into brain tumours, supporting patients and families, and pushing for better treatment options.

If you can spare anything at all, even a few quid, it genuinely makes a difference.

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

If you can't donate, no worries at all. Just sharing the link helps. The more people who see it the better.

This community is often more than just bikes, I've read so many personal stories on here. Thanks for being part of it.
Rob

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

The Twilight Walk is The Brain Tumour Charity's biggest event of the year. People unite to raise money and stride forward together towards a brighter future for everybody affected.

My Just Giving link, my fundraising goal is £350

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

 

[Weeksy]

The Twilight Walk is The Brain Tumour Charity's biggest event of the year. People unite to raise money and stride forward together towards a brighter future for everybody affected.

My Just Giving link, my fundraising goal is £350

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

I've posted it over on my motorbike forum i run.

 

[mintyjim]

My amazing dad died of a brain tumour when he was 69 and I was 40.

8 years on I still think about him every day. He was born blind so getting cancer felt a terribly unfair kick in the bollocks.

The low level of funding in brain tumours is criminal, especially considering how it has unfair impact on teenagers and young people.

So good to read your positive story, makes me very weepy with happiness for you, especially having a couple of kids myself.

I never share anything personal online but this is very close to my heart.

All the best!

James

Donated.

 

[RustyMTB]

We have it going on in my family right now. Fortunately (if that's the right word) it's a Meningioma which as tumors in the brain go, is a good one to have, usually benign & crucially, accessible although it will still be a craniotomy to remove. Nothing but sympathy, the stress is terrible. In.

 

[Stihldog]

Thanks for sharing @Rob Rides EMTB

Our thoughts are with you and your family. We hope for the best. Please keep us updated.

 

[mike_kelly]

Come on guys Rob has done a lot for us so lets do a little something for him and others. A small donation from a lot of people adds up.

 

[crazyknowledge]

Come on guys Rob has done a lot for us so lets do a little something for him and others. A small donation from a lot of people adds up.

totally agree, we all spend a fortune on these bikes so a small donation is a drop in the ocean and as you say Rob has done a great job for all us e-bike nuts.

 

[Powerslider]

My brother in law had a brain tumor removed last year and the process caused him to lose hearing in one ear. Just last week his wife/my sister discovered she has a brain tumor after noticing she was losing taste.

Wishing your son the best.

 

[Plummet]

I feel your pain man. Its incredibly hard for parents to have to withstand children with life threatening diseases and conditions. It should be the other way around. you would do anything to swap that brain tumor into your head.

My youngest daughter has a chromosome deletion and resulting multiple issues because of it. She went in for open heart surgery when she was 2 (now almost 20). That was the hardest thing i had to do in my life. Hand my 2yo daughter over to someone who was going to slice her chest open and into her heart..... Faaaaaaark!

Anyway, she survived and life carries on. There are ongoing mental and physical disabilities that she will have for the rest of her life. I Some times I look at my mates with two normal children with no significant issues and think that must be an easy by comparison.

Anyway, it is what it is. We do the best for we can for her.

 

[Citylad77]

The Twilight Walk is The Brain Tumour Charity's biggest event of the year. People unite to raise money and stride forward together towards a brighter future for everybody affected.

My Just Giving link, my fundraising goal is £350

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

Sorry to read this, a family member has incurable cancer. Just donated you’ve hit your target.
Best of luck

 

[irie]

... But with brain tumours you never really get that clean "all clear" moment. You just hope for the best and keep going.

Donated earlier and just want to say that with most cancers, with a few exceptions*, an "all clear" is for now and one can only hope that it doesn't reappear at a later date in the same place or somewhere else in the body. So as you say, "You just hope for the best and keep going"**.

* such as prostate cancer which has not breached the prostate (which I had 20 years ago when my prostate was completely removed). I got lucky.

** Have recently been diagnosed with an entirely different form of cancer. The prognosis is that I will probably die with it rather than from it. The "probably" means that "You just hope for the best and keep going".

 

[RustyIron]

If you can spare anything at all, even a few quid,

I'm glad the kid is doing well now.
Right now I'm fresh out of quids.
All I could find are dollars.
Hopefully the Twilight Walk folks can work with that.

 

[cream]

@Rob Rides EMTB All the best for your family and thank you for your passionate work.

 

[Astro66]

Hi Rob,

So sorry to hear about your son. I hope he continues to stay healthy. And hope you and the family can find a mental space where you worry less.

My only words of solace. The tough times make the best of times, sweeter.

Best wishes to all the family.

 

[Andrea]

I've been running this community for years and shared pretty much everything about my riding life with you all. But there's something I've never talked about publicly...

In 2019, my son Kayden was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was 14 years old.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. It was the hardest thing our family has ever been through. He went on to have proton beam therapy in 2024 and thankfully he's doing well now. But with brain tumours you never really get that clean "all clear" moment. You just hope for the best and keep going.

We were lucky. Not every family is. Brain tumour research is still massively underfunded compared to other cancers, and better treatments only come from better research.

So I'm raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity. They're the UK's leading charity funding research into brain tumours, supporting patients and families, and pushing for better treatment options.

If you can spare anything at all, even a few quid, it genuinely makes a difference.

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

If you can't donate, no worries at all. Just sharing the link helps. The more people who see it the better.

This community is often more than just bikes, I've read so many personal stories on here. Thanks for being part of it.
Rob

View attachment 178246

View attachment 178249

View attachment 178253

I've been running this community for years and shared pretty much everything about my riding life with you all. But there's something I've never talked about publicly...

In 2019, my son Kayden was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was 14 years old.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. It was the hardest thing our family has ever been through. He went on to have proton beam therapy in 2024 and thankfully he's doing well now. But with brain tumours you never really get that clean "all clear" moment. You just hope for the best and keep going.

We were lucky. Not every family is. Brain tumour research is still massively underfunded compared to other cancers, and better treatments only come from better research.

So I'm raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity. They're the UK's leading charity funding research into brain tumours, supporting patients and families, and pushing for better treatment options.

If you can spare anything at all, even a few quid, it genuinely makes a difference.

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

If you can't donate, no worries at all. Just sharing the link helps. The more people who see it the better.

This community is often more than just bikes, I've read so many personal stories on here. Thanks for being part of it.
Rob

View attachment 178246

View attachment 178249

View attachment 178253

Wow. What an incredible response! Thank you so, so much. In one day Rob has raised more than I’ve managed in a few weeks It is such a great charity who have helped so many families, and the research they fund gives us hope. To those of you who shared your stories, sending strength from our family to yours

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Thank you to you all - blown away by the donations, and smashed the target already. Thank you so much!

As Andrea mentioned the charity do incredible work helping families, and we know this will help continue their great work

big love,
Rob, Andrea, Kayden and family

 

[irie]

View attachment 178253

Kayden could well keep growing until he's about 22, gonna eat you out of house and home.

 

[Stihldog]

Kayden could well keep growing until he's about 22, gonna eat you out of house and home.

Oh! And then there’s the grandchildren …that’s a whole other level.

 

[skismith]

Donated.

Best wishes to you and your family Rob

 

[Blownoutrides]

I've been running this community for years and shared pretty much everything about my riding life with you all. But there's something I've never talked about publicly...

In 2019, my son Kayden was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was 14 years old.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. It was the hardest thing our family has ever been through. He went on to have proton beam therapy in 2024 and thankfully he's doing well now. But with brain tumours you never really get that clean "all clear" moment. You just hope for the best and keep going.

We were lucky. Not every family is. Brain tumour research is still massively underfunded compared to other cancers, and better treatments only come from better research.

So I'm raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity. They're the UK's leading charity funding research into brain tumours, supporting patients and families, and pushing for better treatment options.

If you can spare anything at all, even a few quid, it genuinely makes a difference.

The Twilight Walk - Uniting against brain tumours

Help Rob Hancill raise money to support The Brain Tumour Charity

www.justgiving.com

If you can't donate, no worries at all. Just sharing the link helps. The more people who see it the better.

This community is often more than just bikes, I've read so many personal stories on here. Thanks for being part of it.
Rob

View attachment 178246

View attachment 178249

View attachment 178253

Teared up. Rob hang in there. Sending our love from across the pond.

These are not easy times. We are all living our days closer to the emotional quick. Another reminder that we never, ever know what others are carrying, and kindness is always the best answer even when it's challenging to muster.

 

[Stihldog]

I feel your pain man. Its incredibly hard for parents to have to withstand children with life threatening diseases and conditions. It should be the other way around. you would do anything to swap that brain tumor into your head.

My youngest daughter has a chromosome deletion and resulting multiple issues because of it. She went in for open heart surgery when she was 2 (now almost 20). That was the hardest thing i had to do in my life. Hand my 2yo daughter over to someone who was going to slice her chest open and into her heart..... Faaaaaaark!

Anyway, she survived and life carries on. There are ongoing mental and physical disabilities that she will have for the rest of her life. I Some times I look at my mates with two normal children with no significant issues and think that must be an easy by comparison.

Anyway, it is what it is. We do the best for we can for her.

I just watched a news article where a teenage boy had his DNA changed to prevent auto-immune. (?). This happened at BC’s children’s hospital. He’s the first.

It does take money for this research to happen.

 

[Arminius]

Thanks for asking and supporting, @Rob Rides EMTB. The daughter of a close colleague had a brain tumor and did undergo long treatments and repeated operations. Hard times for the family. She is grown up now, doing well and it is fun when I meet her.

 

[The Hodge]

Good luck Rob & best wishes to you & your family
Donated .

 

[Arminius]

Just remembered and looked it up.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Just remembered and looked it up.

View attachment 184541

Thanks all! Yes did the charity walk, and raised an good amount for the charity - about £1200 between me and my wife

 

[RickBullotta]

Done. Thanks for sharing, Rob, and the pictures of you two together are a great reminder of what really matters.

 

[Bear-uk]

Donation made Rob

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Wow, thanks so much for the generous donations. Massively thankful.