A Reigate pensioner is preparing to walk 250-miles in ten days to raise £5,000 for charity. Father-of-four Terry Keen, 68, was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, and had a radical prostatectomy procedure. Now he is undertaking a 250-mile challenge in aid of The Urology Foundation, the only charity in the UK and Ireland that covers all urological conditions, including prostate, bladder and kidney cancer.

Terry, from Woodhatch, had no symptoms, but went to his GP to ask for an examination and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test after a family member died from prostate cancer. Just weeks later, he was having surgery to remove his prostate.

Terry said: ‘’I hadn’t had an operation since I was two years old so I was terrified, but the care I received was brilliant.”

He said: “I was lost for words. The surgeon and staff were so calming and reassuring, and I left feeling very well-informed.’’ Now Terry is planning to say thank you by raising £5,000 for the Urology Foundation through walking 250-miles around a track at Old Reigatians Rugby Club in September.

Cheering him on will be his wife Jacqueline, their four children, Michael, Andrew, Elizabeth and Katherine, and ten grandchildren.

Terry was inspired to do the challenge after reading a book about Captain Barclay, a Scottish walker of the early 19th century, whose most famous feat was walking 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for 1,000 guineas in 1809.

Terry said: ‘’I don’t have 40 days and I’m pretty sure I can’t walk 1,000 miles, but I wanted to do something epic. “I’ve done Land’s End to John O’Groats before, and last year I cycled to Budapest, but I wanted to do something really difficult.”

His ten-day walk will start at the Old Reigatians Rugby Club on Saturday, September 6.

He said: “The rugby club is a wonderful venue with lovely grounds and great people, and this will be an amazing event.

‘’The Urology Foundation is a tremendous organisation – they fund research, they support specialist training of urologists and they provide grants for surgeons to work with the best in the world in order to benefit British patients. “Their incredible work has improved the lives of literally millions of people.’’ Terry said he also plans to take part in another fundraising challenge for The Urology Foundation next year.

‘’When I was having treatment, my surgeon and professor stressed that my recovery would be greatly enhanced if I maintained my fitness, and they excitedly told me about their participation in The Urology Foundation's 2015 Cycle India Project, a six-day 500km bike ride through rural Rajasthan,” he said. “What really struck me was that these busy people, themselves an integral part of The Urology Foundation, were prepared to give up their time to put bums on saddles and sweat and grind their way up and down mountains, in very difficult conditions, to raise much-needed money for the charity. “They have my total respect and I was determined to play my part. “I decided to do this challenge to enable me to raise funds to take part in the Cycle India Project.’’ The Urology Foundation funds research to develop better diagnoses and treatments of urological diseases and trains surgeons in the latest techniques, such as robotic laparoscopy.

It receives no Government funding and relies on donations to fund its work.

People can make a donation towards Terry's fundraising online at: www.justgiving.com/terrykeen For more details about The Urology Foundation visit its website at: www.theurologyfoundation.org