Dr Ilyas bids to put in peak performance for Rosemere
Dr Ilyas Bektasoglu, who is currently working as a foundation doctor at Longridge’s Berry Lane Medical Centre, is bidding to complete the National Three Peaks – scale Ben Nevis, Mount Snowdon and Scafell Pike all within 24 hours – to raise funds for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
Dr Ilyas (27), who is from Northern Ireland and studied medicine at Queen’s University Belfast but now lives in Preston, has earmarked the weekend of 19th and 20th July for his challenge, which he will take on with pal Jose Benchikh-Rodriguez, a university friend, who is also Northern Irish and works in IT.
The pair will be unsupported so not only will they have to climb the UK’s three highest mountains, they will also have to share all the driving in between the peaks and organise and carry all their food and equipment.
Dr Ilyas, who will leave Berry Lane in August to begin training as a surgeon at the Royal Preston Hospital, where he has already worked in the Emergency Department and in the Acute Medical Unit, said: “We’re both the same age and we both run and go to the gym.”
“We used to hike a lot together but I’ve been hiking in the Bowland Fells to train as well as in the Yorkshire Dales so we’re hopeful we can do it. During my time as a doctor, I've had the privilege of caring for patients living with cancer. This experience has given me an understanding of how profoundly a cancer diagnosis can affect every aspect of a person's life.”
Dr Ilyas, who has set up an online fund raising page at
https://www.justgiving.com/page/rosemere-3-peaks, added: “So often, these patients fight to overcome one challenge, only to face another just around the corner. It's a journey that takes incredible courage. Rosemere Cancer Foundation supports patients through some of the most frightening moments of their lives, providing care and comfort.”
Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, Lancashire and South Cumbria’s specialist regional cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties.
The charity funds cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and innovative services and initiatives that the NHS cannot afford in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation, visit www.rosemere.org.uk