Fundraising hero takes on final feat for Brain Tumour Research

A Portsmouth man whose fundraising efforts over nearly 50 years has generated millions for charity begun his last major challenge in support of Brain Tumour Research on 29 August.

When 65-year-old Paul Smith OBE, from Copnor, finishes his hand-cycle from Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) to Portsmouth on 2 September, it will be 33 years to the day since he was injured in a tragic road traffic incident.

Since the accident, Paul’s brain frequently stops sending signals to his legs, which will stop working from “anywhere from a minute to an hour”. He also sustained further injuries to his shoulders, chest and hip, and now lives with constant migraine pressure, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Despite these obstacles, Paul has gone on to raise more than £2,350,000 for a variety of charities with a number of formidable challenges. 

“There is always something positive to come out of adversity, and I always feel there are so many people that are worse off than me,” said Paul. “Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer. This challenge is for them and their families.”

The 321-mile journey is not the first gruelling fundraiser Paul has undertaken for Brain Tumour Research; in 2021 he completed an extraordinary part wheelchair, part crawl ascent of Yr Wyddfa after losing his grandmother to the disease. Alongside his grandmother, the hand-cycle will be taken in memory of two friends who died of brain cancer, Theresa, who Paul describes as “a special lady”, and Jenny Weller.

After initially assigning early symptoms of headaches and nausea down to COVID-19, Jenny suffered a seizure at home and was diagnosed with five brain tumours in August 2020. Paul met Jenny as she abseiled down Spinnaker Tower 2021, one of seven fundraisers she would tackle for Brain Tumour Research before her death in May 2022 at the age of 37.

Paul said: “We hit it off straight away. She was one of the people you only had to meet once and never forget. She was a huge inspiration for me, and I was to her. 

“To take on what she did, with multiple brain tumours was outstanding, and very humbling.”

Paul has been training for over a year to complete the challenge which will see him traverse mountainous terrain over five days. Whilst Paul doubts he will ever stop fundraising fully, he envisions this to be the last major challenge he will undertake and the culmination of 48 years’ worth of charity work.

He said: “I feel like fundraising is the reason I’m still here; I’m meant to do this. I started when I was seven years old, and other than the 12 years I had lock-in syndrome after the accident, I haven’t stopped.

“I’m hoping to raise £50,000 and make a real difference. The fact that there are on average 16,000 new brain tumour diagnoses every year hammers home the fight Brain Tumour Research has to find that cure.

“It’s heartbreaking how the disease snatches so many, especially young adults and children, away from their families.”

Louise Aubrey, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Paul is an extraordinary person and a true inspiration to us all. We are honoured that he has decided to support us with his last major fundraising challenge and wish him well on this ambitious ride.

“It is sadly not uncommon to lose multiple loved ones to the disease. One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002. Only by fundraising support like Paul’s can we fight back against the disease.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

You can support Paul’s fundraiser by donating at: justgiving.com/page/paul-smith-1697221189554