A man is swimming 70 laps a day for 30 days to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research. 

Joe Summerling, 26, from Chesham, is taking on the challenge after being diagnosed with a grade three astrocytoma while living in Sydney in June 2024.

He said: "When an MRI scan found a lesion on my brain, I was so shocked.

"I was just a normal guy who didn't really have much ever wrong with me.

"I just thought that I was going to die and my whole world came crumbling down in front of me.

"I was speechless, I never thought that it was a brain tumour – I didn't even know you could get brain cancer."

After emergency brain surgery in Australia, Mr Summerling returned to the UK with his partner Phoebe to begin further treatment, including 33 sessions of radiotherapy and 11 cycles of chemotherapy.

Just two days after finishing treatment on October 21, 2025, he began his swimming challenge.

Mr Summerling said: "It took a bit of getting used to.

"I found myself getting into a bit of a depressive state because of moving back and having this illness.

"But I found exercise became my medicine which is what led me to the swimming.

"I've never done a fundraiser, but I feel passionately about Brain Tumour Research and the work it does.

"There are other brain tumour patients who are a lot less fortunate than me, so I just want to raise as much money as possible to find better treatments and hopefully a cure.

"I’m disgusted that brain tumours receive such a small amount of government funding.

"How can one of the worst cancers receive so little?

"Treatments haven't got any better for a long time so it's time things changed."

Mr Summerling first realised something was wrong in April 2024, when he suffered a seizure after a night out in Sydney.

Though initial tests for epilepsy were clear, another seizure followed, leading to an MRI scan that revealed the tumour.

He underwent a seven-hour operation to remove the visible tumour.

Following the operation, the couple relocated to the UK. 

He received six weeks of radiotherapy at Churchill Hospital in Oxford and continued chemotherapy at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "Joe’s story is one that so many families can relate to, from the shock of diagnosis to the strength it takes to keep going.

"His determination to turn something so difficult into a force for good is incredibly inspiring."