A CANCER survivor has raised more than £7,300 for NHS charities after completing a gruelling Alpine trek.
Last month, Cotherstone based travel consultant Vince Bendin headed to Europe to complete the 130km Mont Blanc Route to raise money for the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust hospital.
Mr Bendin, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021, was given the all clear by consultants in July last year. Accompanied by his youngest son Matt, he completed the seven-day trek through mountainous terrain across France, Italy and Switzerland.
He said: “It was hard in places. When you are ascending and descending it can be quite tough. For me, the reward was the scenery and the views.
“The trip was brilliantly organised by the company we used, Macs Adventure. They sorted out transfers of our luggage to accommodation stops, so all we had to do was concentrate on the hiking.”
The father and son team averaged about 20km daily but had to deviate from their route because of a violent thunder and lightning storm.
They kept friends and family updated throughout the trip posting photographs to Mr Bendin’s online donation page and Facebook.
He said: “The day that we walked from France into Italy the views were just breath-taking and the walk up was literally breath-taking.
“As a cancer survivor when you do one of these kinds of things you realise how insignificant you are on the planet and how much more you want to see.
“It is a reminder of our own fragility and what we can achieve if we put our minds to it. It seems almost masochistic to say it was good fun, but it gave me a sense of achievement. It is the most challenging thing I have ever done, but the most rewarding.
“The real motivator was raising as much money for the NHS charities as I could, and it was really uplifting to get notifications of donations.
“People have been so generous, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. It proves how important the NHS is.”
To date he has raised £7,300 which will go to support cancer patients within CDCFT hospitals. Anyone who wishes to donate should visit https://shorturl.at/bmL49
He added: “I’m already thinking of the next challenge. I would love to do something further afield such as climbing Machu Picchu in Peru or Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.”
