A heartfelt plea from Onyx Events for breast cancer prevention

“I’ve done other stupid things in my 66 years, but not like this,” says Glenn Julius, from Onyx Events. He recently raised over £15,000 for Breast Cancer UK by cycling 700 miles from Rome to Sicily.

Glenn started training in February with his friend and personal trainer, Justin Glasspool, a boxing coach. The pair cycled the roads and hills of the New Forest, close to Glenn’s home in Hampshire. 
 
“We trained hard until we flew out to Rome,” says Glenn. “But knew it was going to be hot: anything beyond noon was impossible to ride because it was hitting 40 degrees. So, we left each day at first light, which was four or five o’clock in the morning.” 
 
He adds that there wasn’t any doubt about completing the 700 miles. It was a massive challenge, but they never thought of giving up.  
 
“We just thought about getting through the day, including all those steep inclines,” says Glenn. “A friend commiserated with us as she’d been cycling the hills in Devon. I answered that was nothing… the hills in Italy were mountains! 
 
The pair had two support drivers: Simon Brooker for the Italy leg, and Rob Smuth for the Sicily leg. Glenn describes them both as big characters, motivational, sporty-minded and very supportive
 
“Their support helped us a lot and we enjoyed the journey,” he adds. “The Italian people are lovely. They love cyclists, but Italian drivers are bonkers”  

Why Breast Cancer UK?

Glenn is the CEO at Onyx Events, and it was the company’s first apprentice, Roscoe Morris, taken on in February, who created the entire route. Roscoe is linked to Big Creative Education in London, and Glenn challenged him to create the whole event as part of his apprenticeship.  
 
“That was quite a big thing, really,” says Glenn. “Obviously, he had my encouragement and direction, but he did it really well.” 
 
Glenn adds that there are a million things that Roscoe had to think about when putting together this type of event, from understanding why they wanted to do it, to controlling the budget, ensuring health and safety, organizing the flights and getting bikes on a plane. Then there was the 24/7 monitoring of the event, following live on the route to check on movements. 

“Our ride‘s sole purpose was to raise funds and promote awareness of preventing breast cancer through Breast Cancer UK, a cause close to my heart,” says Glenn. “My wife, Bryony, and my daughter, Lilly Stone, both have the BRCA2 gene, and both have had a double mastectomy with a reconstruction.”

There was a long family connection with the BRCA2 gene.

Bryony’s mother had seen both her mother and her grandmother, die from breast cancer; she recognized it must be genetic. So, she donated blood to the oncology clinic at Southampton University. This is where patients take part in national and international trials ith access to new drugs before they become widely available. 
 
“That’s how it all started,” says Glenn. “Bryony’s mother first had breast cancer in her mid-40s and sadly died at age 67 of secondaries. They found the BRCA2 gene in her blood in 2008. They contacted Bryony for a blood test that year, which identified her as a carrier of the gene. 
 
“Regular checks followed and, in 2011, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan identified a tiny blemish on a pectoral muscle on the right side. However, it wasn’t clearly identified as cancerous by the NHS. We moved to private health and got a second opinion. The oncologist said they wanted to remove the blemish despite it being microscopic; the breast cancer was clarified behind a pectoral muscle. “ 
 
Bryony had a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, followed by an oophorectomy and then a double mastectomy with reconstruction, known as a DIEP.  
 
“This was at the same time that Angelina Jolie did such a great job of helping to promote prevention by having a mastectomy because she was a BRCA1 carrier,” adds Glenn. 
 
Bryony still has regular checkups, although she’s past the 10-year window. The couple’s daughter Lilly made the difficult decision earlier this year to also have a DIEP, purely for prevention. 
 
Glenn continues the story: “Our daughter is a therapist and approached her diagnosis pragmatically. She had seen her mother, my wife, battle this disease, undergo gruelling treatments, and do everything in her power to eliminate the risk. So, despite being only 33 and already a mother of two, she made the courageous decision to take preventative action and have the same DIEP operation.” 
 
Lilly had the operation on the NHS. Glenn says: “Fortunately, the NHS has woken up to prevention rather than cure, offering this amazing support to carriers of the BRCA1 and 2 genes and saving the taxpayer thousands of pounds while saving lives. That was the route Lilly took.” 

So, motivated to promote breast cancer prevention, Glenn embarked on his 700-mile fundraising cycle  

“I am beyond humbled by the number of people who followed me and helped us raise thousands of pounds,” he says. “I’m very proud and will keep sharing our experiences and family journey, promoting prevention,” he says. “If you keep an eye on your body and listen to it, you’ve got a far better chance of seeing this thing coming around the corner. You value life a lot more, and that’s been a huge thing, enjoying every day!  

Inspired by Glenn’s story? Find out how you or your company (like Onyx Events) can get involved in your own fundraising efforts for Breast Cancer UK by clicking here.

• awareness
• BCUK
• Breast cancer
• breast cancer prevention
• Breast Cancer UK
• cancer
• Challenge
• charities
• Cycling
• Fundraise
• prevention