Community saddles up to support Castleford teacher with terminal cancer

Becca Taylor, a 26-year-old teacher, had her life turned upside down after going to hospital with persistent headaches, only to be diagnosed with stage 4 astrocytoma brain cancer.

She has since undergone brain surgery at Leeds General Infirmary, followed by six weeks of intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and further ongoing treatment.

Despite this, treatment options available through the NHS are now extremely limited.

Genetic testing has identified a rare DNA fusion driving tumour growth, a mutation for which targeted treatments do exist, but are not currently accessible to Becca within the UK.

Becca, who has a young daughter, Eliza, has shown incredible strength and positivity throughout. Her determination and outlook have inspired those around her to take action.

In response, friends and colleagues from her dad’s company, URM Logistics, have organised ‘Bike for Becca’ – a 171-mile coast-to-coast cycling challenge.

The team will ride from Morecambe to Bridlington over two days, June 13 and 14, taking on the ‘Way of the Roses’ route.

The cyclists have committed to months of training and have even been given access to Doncaster Airport to prepare, a unique and powerful symbol of the effort behind the fundraiser.

Becca-said: “I can’t thank every single person enough for all the love and support you’ve thrown my way!

"For every share, comment, donation and fundraising, from people closest to me and to those that I don’t even know, there will never be a thank you big enough!”

The reality of Becca’s situation is that accessing potentially life-extending treatment comes at a significant and ongoing cost.

Becca is currently travelling to Germany for specialist immunotherapy treatment, including oncolytic virus therapy (Newcastle Disease Virus), hyperthermia, IV infusions, and ozone autohemotherapy. Each visit costs approximately €6,000, with additional travel and accommodation costs, alongside over €600 per month in medication.

Following this phase, Becca hopes to access a personalised IO-VAC® vaccine — a cutting-edge treatment created using her own tumour cells and immune system to help target cancer long-term.

This stage alone is expected to cost at least £50,000, excluding additional expenses.

In addition, there are targeted drug therapies which could directly inhibit the genetic mutation driving Becca’s tumour growth.

These costs are not one-off; they are ongoing and, in many cases, indefinite.

While this story centres around Becca, it also highlights a much wider issue: the gap between medical innovation and patient access.

The Bike for Becca challenge is not only about raising funds — it is about raising awareness of the urgent need for continued progress, accessibility, and support for patients facing life-limiting diagnoses.

To donate, visit the fundraising page here.