Six Nations ball to be delivered by Craig Maxwell amid epic challenge
It’s all part of an epic journey for the former Six Nations commercial chief, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer back in 2022
Last updated 10th Mar 2024
More than £440,000 has been raised for a charity aiming to reduce the diagnosis time for cancer patients in Wales.
It’s all part of an epic journey for the former Six Nations commercial chief, who’s today (March 10) on the final leg of walking 780 miles of the Wales coastal path, which represents the 78 days it took for doctors to identify his terminal, stage four, lung cancer back in September 2022.
Craig Maxwell’s final part of the journey takes him from Barry to Cardiff - ahead of delivering the match ball for today’s match at the Principality Stadium - when Wales take on France in the Six Nations.
The Maxwell Genomics Fund is hoping to reduce the diagnosis time to 26 days in Wales - something Craig has marked by completing the journey in just as many days around the Welsh coast.
He will be walking from Barry to the Principality Stadium with friends and family on the very last leg of his epic journey.
Ever since he set off, Craig has been joined by dozens of famous supporters from the world of sport and beyond.
Those include Ex-Welsh international Josh Navidi, Jonathan Davies OBE, TV presenter Gethin Jones, meteorologist Derek Brockway, and comedian Rhod Gilbert.
Sharing why he's taken on the challenge, Craig said: "In September 2022, at the age of 40 I was diagnosed with a rare form of genetic lung cancer, EGFR+, which had also spread to my bones.
"It is an inoperable, incurable Stage 4 diagnosis. My terminal illness has given me, my children, Isla and Zach, and my wife, Tracey, limited time together.
"With the four words 'You have incurable cancer', our lives changed forever and our future was taken away. Tracey and I agreed that we will not let this control the time we have left together as a family.
"I will miss my children’s future.
"But whilst I can’t be there to give them the support I had planned to with Tracey, I can show them how strong and powerful people can be when we want to make a difference together."
The match ball has been carried the entire distance of the challenge, and is said to mark our 'collective fight against cancer' - it will be delivered to the pitch ahead of today's Six Nations game when Wales host France.
You can follow their journey on the Maxwell Genomics Fund Instagram page- or learn more about the challenge here.