Swimming between continents in memory of his mum

A MAN from Thame has set himself the challenge of swimming along the Bosphorous Strait in Turkey, to raise funds for the cancer that killed his beloved mother.

Mike Bishop with his late mother, Barbara Coyle

Mike Bishop, 43, from Thame, will be taking part in the 26th Samsung, Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race on July 20, a 6.5km swim along the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey – the busy shipping lane that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It’s a gruelling swim in challenging conditions and against the clock because the Turkish authorities close the Bosphorus for two hours only.

It was the death of Mike’s mother, Barbara Coyle, from pancreatic cancer in April 2012, that inspired him to take on this challenge, aiming to raise as much money as possible for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund (PCRF). Barbara, who worked as IT manager for the LOROS Hospice charity in Leicestershire, was just 63 and planning her retirement when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2012.

“For mum to die only two months after diagnosis was such a massive shock to all of us,” said Mike. “We were very close and her death hit us all really hard. Her grandchildren were her world and she was really looking forward to spending more time with them. She’d recently taken up cycling and was very fit and active.”

Director of Software Engineering for McAfee, Mike had never swum in open water before he embarked on his training schedule in January 2014. Although a reasonable, if out of practice, swimmer, he’s found the training hard going. “I was ready to pull out after my first sea swim – it went very badly and I thought I’d never be ready in time – but I was determined to carry on in mum’s memory,” he explained.

Joining Mike on the swim will be his colleague, 37 year old Madhu Halebathi Marulasiddah from Aylesbury, who is taking part for his own personal challenge. Also among the 1,500 Bosphorus swimmers, who range in age from 14 to 84, will be Pippa and James Middleton – siblings of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Mike’s wife, Sue, and his sons Henry (10) and Isaac (6) will be in Turkey to cheer him on. “Sue’s been very supportive and kept me going when the training got tough. She’s proud that I’ve persevered, but I think she’s also nervous that I’ve underestimated just how hard it’s going to be – no chance of that!” he concluded.

Each year approximately 8,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is an extremely difficult cancer to diagnose and treat because it is unusually aggressive, symptoms are often vague and generally appear at an advanced stage of the disease. Around three per cent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will survive for five years or more, a figure that has barely improved in forty years.

If you would like to support Mike in his fundraising efforts, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/BosphorusBas/