Story
TEAM FANTASTIC
MARATHON 2019
You know what it's like, we all throw around the term that we have been "touched" by cancer.
This time it smacked me right in the face. Actually, in my case it was my bottom!
Say hello to Jacki, Simon and me, Glen. The three of us have come together after a meeting of minds.
My name is Glen and I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2017. So what did I decide to do? Run a Marathon! To raise money so that some day one of you lot doesn't have to go through the same that I did.
Jacki, Simon and I each have different reasons for running, but we agreed on a couple of things: to run in aid of Bowel Cancer UK, and in memory of all our loved ones that are unfortunately no longer with us.
Each of you that kindly donates will be added to our Hall of Fame on our website - a permanent reminder that you helped us finish the marathon and raise money to save lives.
JACKI'S STORY
My name is Jacki Walker, unfortunately the number of close friends I have lost to bowel cancer has steadily increased over the years. But it was the death of my sister Joanne from Breast Cancer 20th June 2015, that inspired me to start running - I haven't stopped running since!
The list of people I have lost to cancer is unfortunately long, and its easy to gloss over them as just names in a list. But each had friends, loved ones, family and kids. I lost a very close friend Julie to bowel cancer, she was 38. Unfortunately her aunty Marge died 8 weeks before her in the same hospice to the same decease. A family friend lost her daughter - shortly after her wedding day – she was 31.
My beautiful special friend Julie Swallow was diagnosed 9 years ago - she went through so many chemo sessions/radio sessions and painful nerve injections. Julie battled through the pain to come and watch me run my first half marathon in memory of my sister. To see Julie standing at the finish line was amazing - Julie had been in a wheelchair for some time and she stood for me!
I got a message from Julies husband on the morning of February 5th this year - Julie fell asleep in his arms the night before and she gained her wings.
SIMON WILLOCKS' STORY
A close friend, Clare Pottle, who I’d shared happy memories with for over 35years, bravely lost her battle with bowel cancer in 2014. Clare never complained, always thought and asked of others
before herself and was always, ALWAYS smiling. Clare was a great friend and is sadly missed by many.
Then imagine, less than 4 years later, my friend Glen, husband of Lindsay -another very close friend of 40+ years- who had a “sister like” relationship with Clare, is then diagnosed with bowel cancer!
Like Claire, Glen has fort this illness with legendary positivity and openness which has been and continues to be inspirational to many Only 6 weeks after major surgery Glen then decided to once again don his running shoes with the intension to walk the Middlewich 5km. However his heart took over and he actually ran it!
Immediately after this run, Glen set his goal on a Marathon. A challenge on my own bucket list, what a way to raise critical funds and awareness of bowel cancer which could prevent others going
through what two of my close friends have experienced. We’d greatly appreciate your support.
My name is Jacki Walker, unfortunately the number of close friends I have lost to bowel cancer has steadily increased over the years. But it was the death of my sister Joanne from Breast Cancer 20th June 2015, that inspired me to start running - I haven't stopped running since!
The list of people I have lost to cancer is unfortunately long, and its easy to gloss over them as just names in a list. But each had friends, loved ones, family and kids. I lost a very close friend Julie to bowel cancer, she was 38. Unfortunately her aunty Marge died 8 weeks before her in the same hospice to the same decease. A family friend lost her daughter - shortly after her wedding day – she was 31.
My beautiful special friend Julie Swallow was diagnosed 9 years ago - she went through so many chemo sessions/radio sessions and painful nerve injections. Julie battled through the pain to come and watch me run my first half marathon in memory of my sister. To see Julie standing at the finish line was amazing - Julie had been in a wheelchair for some time and she stood for me!I got a message from Julies husband on the morning of February 5th this year - Julie fell asleep in his arms the night before and she gained her wings.
A close friend, Clare Pottle, who I’d shared happy memories with for over 35years, bravely lost her battle with bowel cancer in 2014. Clare never complained, always thought and asked of others
before herself and was always, ALWAYS smiling. Clare was a great friend and is sadly missed by many.
Then imagine, less than 4 years later, my friend Glen, husband of Lindsay -another very close friend of 40+ years- who had a “sister like” relationship with Clare, is then diagnosed with bowel cancer!
Like Claire, Glen has fort this illness with legendary positivity and openness which has been and continues to be inspirational to many Only 6 weeks after major surgery Glen then decided to once again don his running shoes with the intension to walk the Middlewich 5km. However his heart took over and he actually ran it!
Immediately after this run, Glen set his goal on a Marathon. A challenge on my own bucket list, what a way to raise critical funds and awareness of bowel cancer which could prevent others going
through what two of my close friends have experienced. We’d greatly appreciate your support.
I think there's enough about me in here. In short I have a long list of loved ones affected by cancer too unfortunately. Clare Pottle was also my dear friend, the smiliest girl I ever knew. Selfless to a fault. My wife's Dad Dave Ross died 12 years ago of Leukaemia - that was my first "touch" by cancer. It was brutal to put it mildly.
The day I was diagnosed with cancer my Dad got the all-clear from throat cancer! Go figure, as they say! I remember standing in our kitchen turning to Lindsay, my wife on the day I found out I had cancer saying "I actually have cancer". It was as scary as I have ever been. Everything since then has been a cliche of rollercoaster ups and downs but oddly an extremely positive experience.
I wrote about how I went from Cancer to 5k in 6 weeks and now to a Marathon.I'll skip to the end. I received my first all-clear April 6th 2018 and I now have the next five years of scans to stay that way.
Ask any cancer survivor what they want most, and next to remaining cancer-free they'll probably tell you they want to prevent anyone experiencing what they have had to go through. So here I am! Look out for the signs of bowel cancer, but most importantly LISTEN TO YOUR BODY, AND ACT: GO AND SEE YOUR DOCTOR!
B is for BLOOD in your poo or from your bum
O is for OUCH pains in your tum or bum
W is for WEIGHT loss that is unintended
E is for ENERGY levels low/anemia/tiredness
L is for LOO going to the toilet for a poo more frequently and the shape and consistency of your poo changing
Thank you for reading, even more than that thank you for sponsoring us, wish us luck and don't forget to tell us about yourself when you sponsor us and look out for your name in the Hall of Fame on Glen's website!
Glen's website: http://www.24hrswithcancer.org
See the full version of our story here: http://www.24hrswithcancer.org/p/marathon2019.html