What We Do
Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC) is a registered charity founded in 2005 and we give new lightweight bikes, tandems and specially adapted trikes to children and young people living with and beyond cancer throughout the UK.
Approximately 2,400 children and young people up to and including the age of 18 are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK and we are passionate about helping all these families along this difficult journey.
The effects of cancer and its associated treatment regimes in children are numerous, with the most common side-affects seen in most patients being:
- loss of cardiovascular conditioning
- loss of muscle (atrophy)
- amputations
- balance issues
- coordination difficulties
- lack of self-esteem, confidence and concerns over body image
Exercise has been shown in numerous adult studies to be the single most effective way of improving both physical and mental wellness for people surviving cancer. We encourage cycling as the best form of exercise based rehabilitation especially for children because it provides all these benefits in a low impact, fun, sociable and exciting way. For more information about the benefits of exercise and activity for people living with and beyond cancer please see our Cancer and Exercise page on this website.
Cancer also causes massive disruption in families, therefore where possible we also give bikes to their siblings, and in some cases their parents so that they can take part in an activity as a family once again after what can be years of hospitalisation and upheaval. We now aim to supply around 600 awards each year which will take our total since we started in 2005 to over 9500 awards.
We also fund a network of Cancer Exercise Specialists who work closely with the twenty-one paediatric oncology units around the country to promote activity, exercise, a healthy lifestyle and our services. We run workshops, attend end of treatment days, activity days and have provided several hospital units with exercise equipment to help with rehabilitation. Adopting a healthy active lifestyle at an early age means these practices will be carried on into adulthood, establishing good life-long habits.
In 2017 we funded a dedicated research study with the University of Leeds entitled Cycling Through Cancer to clearly illustrate the relationship between physical and mental well being and physical activity in children surviving cancer. Our main focus is raising awareness of the benefits of activity and exercise for children and adults living with and beyond cancer.
We operate totally on the kind support of our amazing fundraisers taking part and putting on events from coffee mornings, sponsored walks, runs and bike rides in the UK, to world record attempts abroad. All monies donated make a huge difference to our total fundraising effort and ultimately to the number of children affected by cancer we support. If you would like to be involved in any way, please visit our Get Involved section, we’d love to have you as part of Team CFC!
Cyclists Fighting Cancer is a Limited Company by Guarantee no. 07194338 and registered charity number 1140017.
