Craig Maxwell, the former Welsh Rugby Union and Six Nations commercial chief who is terminally ill with lung cancer, has raised more than £2.3 million to support the cancer pathway in Wales.
A charity gala dinner organised by Sinclair Group and held at the Celtic Manor raised more than £600,000, taking Maxwell's overall total to £2.3 million.
Celebrity Support and Fundraising Challenges
Celebrity guests included Nigel Owens, Scott Quinnell, Josh Navidi, BBC presenter Lauren Salter and George North, all of whom have personal relationships with Maxwell and have supported his fundraising efforts over the years.
In September 2022, Maxwell received the news that he had been diagnosed with incurable and inoperable lung cancer. Before Thursday night's dinner, he had completed a series of fundraising challenges while undergoing intensive treatment, raising £1.6 million.
His challenges have included completing the London Marathon, leading a bike ride from Cardiff to Paris, walking the 780-mile Wales Coastal Path in 26 days before delivering the match ball ahead of Wales' 2024 Six Nations clash with France, and rowing 72 miles from Tenby to Cardiff.
A Difficult Year and a New Milestone
When Maxwell took on the rowing challenge last year, he was aware it would probably be his last big physical fundraising challenge, admitting that daily life had become harder as the cancer spread throughout his body. He then put his energy into helping organise the charity gala dinner, with the aim of taking his total from £1.7 million to £2 million. The total at the end of the night was £2.3 million.
"It's been really hard, the last year has been really difficult," Maxwell said when he arrived at the dinner. "The cancer has spread quite far through my body, it gives me quite a lot of pain and fatigue and I've had a lot of different treatments but nights like this do make it all worthwhile.
"I'm doing OK, it's been the hardest year yet out of the four years but I'm doing OK."
During the dinner, Maxwell shared that he now had around 23-27 brain tumours and that the cancer had spread to roughly 30 different places in his body. In the last year he said he had experienced almost every side effect possible. "It's been issue after issue," he said.
Even though his condition is incurable, his aim is to see both of his children make it to 18. "We started this to raise £300,000 and I remember thinking that was a lot of money," he added. "Then three became seven, became a million. The number is really important but it's what it does which is the really exciting part."
Impact and Tributes
So far, the money raised by Maxwell has funded immunotherapy doctors at Velindre Cancer Centre and helped introduce the QuicDNA project in every health board in Wales, which makes the lung cancer diagnostic process quicker and less invasive.
"If I knew we could have done it in a dinner I wouldn't have bloody cycled or run!" he joked after it was announced that more than £600,000 had been raised on the night, to take the total to over £2.3 million.
While he thanked everyone for helping smash their target, he also paid tribute to Dr Tom Crosby, whom he credited with having encouraged him to do so much of his fundraising. Professor Crosby worked at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff for decades and is widely recognised for the contribution he made to cancer care in Wales and across the UK. Following his death in September, tributes flooded in for the oncologist who was described as a "much-loved and highly respected consultant".
Becoming visibly emotional on stage, Maxwell said: "There's a gentleman that I really really hoped would be here with us tonight. The wonderful Tom Crosby, Tom started this, he first planted the seeds. When I was first diagnosed he was one of the first people I spoke to and he said: 'I believe in you. You can do this'.
"I'm heartbroken he's not here but thank you very much."
He continued: "£600,000 - that is unbelievable. That will make a massive difference to patients like me across Wales everyday. I cannot thank you enough for everything that you've done, for your continued support. There are thousands of patients out there I know who will be thanking you as well."
Ahead of the event, Maxwell's close friend and host for the evening, Gethin Jones, spoke of his admiration for Maxwell and praised how he had handled his treatment. He added: "It's been quite remarkable to see how people have rallied around him and supported him in what he wants to achieve and all the challenges that he's undertaken.
"Chris Hoy's become a really good friend as well over the last few years, and they're both stage four cancer, both very different journeys.
"It's definitely changed my reflections on life. Like, I just don't feel like I have anything to complain about. You know?"
Andy Sinclair, managing director of Sinclair Group, Wales' biggest motor retailer and the company behind Thursday's dinner, said: "Craig is a good friend of mine so I've seen him go through his challenges of the past three or four years. Seeing everything he's achieved, it's just magnificent so we are doing our little bit to try and help the foundation and do whatever we can to help Craig.
"To be able to bring people together and get him over his target of raising £2m is just something we are really really proud of. It gives us a chance to help Craig and his family reach the milestone that they absolutely deserve."
All the money raised goes towards helping charities including Velindre Cancer Care.
