Some money had already been raised for the project which is run by the Life Sciences Wales Hub, external as well as other health and industry partners, but a further £300,000 was needed to get it off the ground.
Mr Maxwell said: “I was making videos for my children, for their birthdays and weddings – all that stuff I will miss, but was thinking in the time I’ve got this is not enough.”
He managed to raise the money needed, surpassing the target by raising almost £1.5m
“All I’ve done is run, cycle and climb mountains.
“But if that means that somebody like me walked into the hospital tomorrow and there was a test that could help them, and if I’ve been a small part of that, that would be the proudest thing I’ve ever achieved.”
The extra funding will help experts explore how liquid biopsies might be used to detect and screen for other cancers.
