Four men from Wigan, four rounds of golf, in four countries, in 24 hours for charity

Mike Ashton, 57, Gary Speakman, 65, Martin Jump, 56, and Stuart Kohler, 63, will play golf in England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to spread awareness for oesophageal cancer.

This cause is particularly close to Stuart as his wife, Gill, 63, a former assistant head at St Wilfrid’s Primary School in Standish, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in April 2023.

Gill had to undergo an intense 11-hour surgery to remove her oesophagus and reconnect her stomach.

Fortunately, Gill had a good recovery and is living life to the max: lots of holidays, gym classes and spending time with her grandchildren.

Oesophageal cancer is the seventh most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, and 8,000 people die each year from it. However, if you catch it soon, most cases are preventable, 59 per cent in fact.

Heartburn Cancer UK raises awareness about the dangers of persistent heartburn, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and Barrett’s oesophagus: conditions which can lead to more serious illness such as oesophageal cancer.

HCUK supports people living with these conditions and is working towards improving patient outcomes.

They strongly advocate for the capsule sponge test to be widely implemented across the UK to support earlier diagnosis and support multiple research projects aimed at improving detection and care.

The test involves the patient swallowing a small capsule containing a sponge attached to a surgical string.

After a few minutes, once the capsule has dissolved, the string is then retrieved, and as it moves up the oesophagus, it collects cells from the lining to be analysed by pathologists.

By implementing these, it would reduce endoscopy workload and identify those at low risk of oesophageal cancer.

Stuart said: “What we are trying to do is raise awareness of heartburn and indigestion, and that if you have it for more than thee weeks, go to your doctor and they can quickly diagnose whether it is heartburn or indigestion or if it’s something that you need to be wary about and treat it accordingly”.

The challenge begins on Sunday June 14, with the team travelling to Folkestone, before teeing off at Hythe Golf Club before a late-night Channel crossing.

There is no overnight accommodation booked, so the four will briefly rest in their van before an intense schedule the next day.

On the Monday, they start in France at 5.30am at AA Saint-Omer Golf, next to Langeldeecourse, Belgium, at 10am, then finally the Netherlands, finishing the last round at Golfclub Oostburg at 4.30pm before heading to Bruges for an overnight stay.

Stuart said: “We all love playing golf. We did four rounds at Wigan Golf Course for Three Wishes Charity, and we really enjoyed that, but we thought we would try and take it one step further, by doing it in four different countries in 24 hours.

“We will get through it one way or another. I think Monday night, we are looking forward to having a few beers and a good night’s sleep”.

The four hope to raise £2,500 and are currently just over halfway.

Donate at their Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/four24four?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL