Swapping the stage for the open road in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust

28/07/10

Chris Edwards from Kasabian will be swapping his base guitar for his bike to tackle a 1,000 mile cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats with his brother Jay in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

On the 4 September the brothers will be leaving Lands End to undertake the grueling bike ride to John O’Groats with the help of their dad Peter who will be providing the support car. They hope that the ride will take just over a fortnight to complete and they will be fundraising along the way.

The money raised will go towards Teenage Cancer Trust services in the East Midlands which includes plans to build a five-bed Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary, a five-bed unit at Queens Medical Centre hospital and a three-bed unit at Nottingham City hospital. This will provide specialist treatment for young cancer patients aged 13-24 from Leicester and other parts of the East Midlands with some of the best facilities in the country. Teenage Cancer Trust needs to raise over £1.2m to develop these facilities and expand services for young people across the East Midlands, and the money from Chris and Jay’s bike challenge will go towards this new development.

The brothers have been training for months and have accumulated hundreds of miles on their bikes but Chris has had a busy schedule touring with Kasabian which means that he will be going straight onto his bike after a summer of performances and festivals.

Chris comments: “We decided to take up the challenge of the bike ride as we are huge supporters of Teenage Cancer Trust. When we visited a Teenage Cancer Trust unit it was a real eye-opener, as you don’t think it will be young people with cancer, but the Teenage Cancer Trust wards are amazing - they give teenagers somewhere to hang out with other young people going through the same thing as themselves.”

If you would like to donate to Chris and Jay’s bike ride please visit their blog at www.jaychrislejog.com They will also be updating this daily so you can keep up with their progress.

-ENDS- For press enquiries please contact Victoria Evans at Teenage Cancer Trust on 0207 612 0714 or email victoria.evans@teenagecancertrust.org

Notes to editors Teenage Cancer Trust

Every day in the UK, six young people are told they have cancer. This is a rising figure and there are already more young people than children with the disease. These young people often get a raw deal, receiving hospital treatment in inappropriate facilities catering for children or the elderly.

Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals designed to give teenagers and young people the very best chance of a positive outcome. As well as state-of-the-art facilities to keep patients occupied during long stays in hospital, the units provide an environment where teenagers can meet others in a similar situation.

The charity estimates that, with the 16 units they currently have around the UK, only half of all young people diagnosed with cancer now have access to the dedicated, specialist support they provide. But Teenage Cancer Trust’s aim is to build enough units so that every young person will be treated on one.

www.teenagecancertrust.org Teenage Cancer Trust is a registered charity, no. 1062559