Ross Bowles will ride to fight the brain cancer that changed his life at the Bike Ride for Brain Cancer event

Ross Bowles was riding his bike the day his life changed forever — he stumbled home disorientated, recovering from a seizure and later found out he was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of brain cancer.

Brain Cancer Survivor Ross Bowles, wife Di and son Max, 13. Ross will join 50 riders on a fundraising ride to the Hunter Valley. PIcture: AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook

Brooklyn resident Ross Bowles was riding his bike the day his life changed forever — he stumbled home disorientated, recovering from a seizure and later found out he was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of brain cancer.

Just two in every 10 people that are diagnosed with brain cancer will have a story like Mr Bowles, a story of survival.

“I am extremely fortunate as many brain cancer patients suffer much more than I have and often their prognosis is very poor,” Mr Bowles told the Advocate.

“I still have regular MRI scans to check for brain tumour regrowth and I’m able to ride my bike which allows me to retreat into the safety of my mind and escape life when I so often need to.”

Brain Cancer Survivor Ross Bowles poses with his bike during a photo shoot at Brooklyn. Picture: AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook

Before the seizure that changed everything, Mr Bowles was a fit and healthy man, so he said the diagnosis “came as a complete shock”.

“The treatments in the first 12 months made life very busy, brain surgery to remove the tumour followed by radiation treatments over six weeks to kill off any bad cells that may have been missed in the surgery,” he said.

Following several surgeries, six chemotherapy cycles, 33 radiation treatments, 22 MRI scans and more than 130 consultations, the 59-year-old father is celebrating five years in remission.

But his fight is not over, in fact, it is just beginning.

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“As far as the effect of the treatment on me goes, I think I was expecting that I would just pick up my life and continue on, however my brain is now very unreliable and life is just plain tiring,” he said.

“I often run into people who say “gee you look good” shortly followed by, “but you’re OK now aren’t you?” — actually, no — I’m not OK.

“I’m a very different person since the seizure and treatment — every day is a struggle for me and my family, to understand what is going on in my head.”

He said memory loss has left him “struggling to remember how family, friends, or someone I just met 10 seconds ago fit into the timeline of my life”.

Brain Cancer Survivor Ross Bowles, wife Di and son Max, 13, hosted a charity fundraising event for the Brain Biobanking scheme, which helps provide critical research to increase survival rates of brain cancer sufferers. Picture: AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook

“I’m telling you this story because I want to highlight the real struggle — the struggle to find better treatments and ultimately a cure to this horrible disease,” he said.

To help fight back against the cancer that took so much from his own life, Mr Bowles and his wife Di are raising much-needed funds for cancer research, before he challenges himself in riding in the Bike Ride for Brain Cancer event.

The charity fundraising day, which will take place on March 8, is a 240km ride with the funds raised going to the Brain Cancer Bio-banking Australia.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

BCBA help to facilitate research by pooling tissue samples from around the world, making large numbers of brain tissue samples available to researchers to find a cure.

More information about the ride and the important work BCBA fund can be found via Ross’s fundraising page, where you can also make donations to the cause.

Visit bikerideforbraincancer.com.au for more information.