North East Lincolnshire Minister completes 68km swim in memory of sister
Rev John Boardman completed the swim at Cleethorpes Leisure Centre.
A minister from Grimsby has called for more funding for brain tumour research after swimming 2,740 lengths over a period of 13 months in honour of his sister who died from a glioblastoma.
Rev John Boardman, 68, set the goal to highlight the £2,740 cost to fund a single day's work at one of Brain Tumour Research's four research centres.
His sister, Julie Wilson died at the age of 60, 21 months after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
John said: "She had radiotherapy, she had chemotherapy and she had other drugs but it didn't stop the tumour growing, so I'm really keen to try to get more money for Brain Tumour Research so other people don't have to suffer like Julie did.
"Given so many people died from brain tumours I'm keen to get more money from the government to support these Brain Tumour Research centres."
John tried to swim around 50 lengths of the pool every week since starting his challenge in January 2023, and said he was motivated by his faith and by his love for Julie.
He said: "She was a wife, a mother and a grandmother and a great French teacher at Beverley - she was much loved by everybody who knew her and it's such a tragedy that she died so young."
Brain Tumour Research has said just 1% of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to brain tumours, which kill more people under the age of 40 than any other cancer.
The government spokesperson said: “Brain cancer is a devastating disease, which is why we've made £40 million available for research projects specifically looking for new treatments and therapies to tackle this illness.
“We're investing in research infrastructure, workshops and training for clinicians to further progress developments in this field. And we continue to encourage further applications for research funding from successful candidates through the National Institute for Health and Care Research.”
You can find John's JustGiving page here.