Q&A with Dr Trethewey who is taking on the challenge of the Channel!

Eazi Business • February 18, 2019

In July of this year Leicester cancer researcher, Dr Christopher Trethewey is taking part in a charity challenge which will see him swim 21 miles across the English Channel. After carrying out research at the Hope Clinical Trials Facility, Dr Trethewey is now giving back even more by pushing himself to a new extreme, aiming to raise £10,000 for Hope. We are all so in awe and so proud of Dr Trethewey and no doubt you will feel full of inspiration after reading this Q&A with the wonderful man himself!

What are your hobbies and interests and how did you get into cancer research?
I am currently working alongside several fantastic teams in Leicester, between Professor Martin Dyers Laboratory, and the Leicester Royal Infirmary including the Hope Against Cancer Trials unit. My life is currently a frantic juggling act between research projects, training, and sleeping, with not much in between at the moment! Fortunately, I love all three aspects and regularly have to step back and realise how lucky I am working in clinical research. I began swimming from an early age competing for my county of Cornwall with my local swimming club Truro City, so thankfully not a stranger to swimming. Credit to my father Simon Trethewey for teaching me and my brother Sam (who will be on the boat supporting me) to swim very early at a local swimming pool in Newquay, and mother Sara for all the beach trips at the weekends.

Tell us a bit about the cancer research you are currently carrying out in Leicester
My main project is currently working alongside a team in Cambridge to develop better ways of monitoring lymphoma patients by looking into the blood. We are using a technique called a Liquid biopsy, where we analyse DNA deposited into the blood, something which we are highly specialised at here in Leicester thanks to Professor Jacqui Shaw and her team. Our aims are to greatly improve the way we treat these patients by tailoring treatments based on the patients themselves, rather than blanket treating cancer based on a single type.

What made you choose Hope Against Cancer as your charity?
Hope Against Cancer was an easy choice to fundraise for. I have been fortunate enough to carry out clinically aimed research alongside the fantastic staff of the Hope Unit. I have seen first-hand the fantastic service they are providing to Cancer patients, being regularly told by my patients how happy they are to be looked after by such wonderful staff including Jane Denyer, Cath Noon, Lydianne Lock and too many others to mention.

What inspired you to swim the English Channel to raise funds for Hope?
From a very early age, I have fantasised about completing the 21-mile stint across the channel. Being privileged enough to live in Cornwall as a child, the opportunity to swim in the sea existed frequently enough for me to fall in love with the ocean, and quite frankly, I’ve always fancied it!

Swimming the English Channel can be dangerous, what safety precautions will you be taking?
Swimming the English Channel can be extremely dangerous. Less people have completed the channel swim than summit Everest which says something. Dangers range from the obvious onset of hypothermia due to prolonged low temperature exposure (15-16C), to the less obvious pulmonary oedema (lungs filling with fluid) caused by prolonged intensive exercise. To combat hypothermia, I will be taking on as many calories as possible to maintain metabolic core temperature. As far as pulmonary oedema is concerned, I am at the mercy of fait here, so fingers crossed that doesn’t happen!! Other slight obstacles include prolonged exposure to jellyfish stings which I am less worried about, cramps which I have learned to swim off and the tides. The tides and weather ultimately dictate the success of the swim, and will decide whether I swim 20, or 30 miles!! Fortunately, I have an excellent pilot, Eddie Spelling of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CSPF) keeping a very well-trained eye on me, with my brother Dr Samuel Trethewey and his partner Ella Reynolds, a high-level Nurse to keep me alive. My partner, Stephanie Kipling arguably has the most important job of all, which is feeding me, which can decide If I complete the swim or not!

How are you training for the event and what motivates you?
To condition my body to be able to endure the marathon distance and cold temperatures, my training is divided between increasingly long pools swims (15,000m plus!) with frequent cold-water swims (5 – 6C) at the beautiful Stoney Cove Diving Centre situated south west of Leicester. I have been fortunate enough to meet a community of open water swimmers who are now supporting my endeavours which is fantastic. My motivation originates from the patients I see daily working at the HOPE clinical trials unit, and the Leicester Royal Infirmary haematooncology unit (blood cancers). Over the year and a half, I have met and befriended wonderful people, people who frequently succumb to the unforgiving, non-discriminatory disease cancer. My motivation further extends to not only people with cancer, but people unable to carry out simple things such as everyday tasks due to aliments, disease or permanent injuries. In my eyes these people are the true heroes managing life on a sometimes-permanent daily basis. I fell this swim is a mere spec compared to what these people have to manage, and after 12-14 hours of hell I get to rest and repair in comfort.

Tell us about the route…
The route for the attempt is no straight line, unfortunately!! However, the attempt starts South West of Dover at Shakespeare’s Cliff and ends around Cap Griz Nez South West of Calais. This distance equates to around 21/22 miles depending on the tides, and sometimes much further. The tides rule here, forcing a straight line into a S-shaped trajectory. The strength of the first tide can outweigh the second causing the swimmer to swim further than expected. A swimmer once swam 37 miles rather than 22 for instance, taking 30+ hours. This can be avoided however by swimming faster and stopping less for food or eating quicker!

And finally, how will you be celebrating such an amazing accomplishment?
After the swim I will no doubt be having a massive party with a final fundraising push, although I think I will take a day or two to recover first!

If you want to donate to this amazing effort, then you can do so by CLICKING HERE !

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