We are running the BUPA Manchester 10K for the Lymphoma Association in May this year.

Shelley's sister was first diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma just before we got married, in 2002.  After successful treatment she was in remission until last year.

Now the Lymphoma has returned, and she is determined to fight it.  She now has a blog about it: http://heatherslymphoma.blogspot.com/

We've never done anything physical like this before - it's a real challenge and we are training really hard to get fit for the run in May.  It's tiring and painful, but we're determined to do it and raise funds and awareness for the Lymphoma Association.

About the Lymphoma Association

Founded by patients in 1986, the Lymphoma Association is the only specialist UK charity that provides accurate medical information and support to lymphatic cancer patients, their families and friends.

Every year, nearly 11,000 new cases of lymphoma are identified in the UK alone, making it the 6^th most common cancer diagnosed by clinicians, and the most common cancer affecting the 15 - 30 age group.

The services that they offer include a freephone patient helpline, free patient literature, a buddy scheme with telephone links to others with similar experiences, local support groups, regional patient conferences and comprehensive information on our award winning websites. In addition to this, the organisation is currently running a pilot project which has established five Lymphoma Association Clinical Nurse Specialist posts within NHS Haematology Units.

The Lymphoma Association is also the founder member of the Lymphatic Cancer Alliance, a UK based coalition of four charities (the others' being CancerBACKUP, Leukaemia Care and the Leukaemia Research Fund) that have come together to create awareness of lymphoma, which should result in better support, care and treatment for lymphatic cancer patients everywhere.

They  also represent the patient perspective by providing evidence for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisals, being on the steering committee of the NHS Coalition for Cancer Information (CCI) and by being a founder member of the Lymphoma Coalition - an international group of lymphoma patient support organisations.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.