This year Gavin (aka Dr. Dance, President of Eire Designs, one of the worlds leading Irish dance teachers, and a great friend) and I will be participating in the Maratona di Roma.  I'm running it in memory of my amazing wife Victoria who passed away on the 20th of November 2012 following a 9 month battle against an extremely rare and aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). 

We want to raise funds to help find new targeted treatments to combat this cruel disease and other blood and bone marrow cancers.

After her diagnosis Victoria and I discussed how we could raise awareness of this disease.  Since her death it has become my mission to help this wonderful charity and I am fully committed to this cause.  Earlier in the year I was invited to join the charity's central committee.  See their new website at www.leukaemiaandlymphomani.org.

Victoria was diagnosed with AML in February 2012 at the age of 30.  It came completely out of the blue as Victoria was a happy new mum to our baby daughter Rebecca.  She had been feeling fatigued for a few weeks and a blood test confirmed that her white blood cells were not maturing correctly leaving her body at risk to serious infection.  Her positivity in the face of this devastating cancer of the bone marrow was amazing.  Even when she was in severe pain, she kept us all going; she believed that the following day would be a better one.  The clinicians treating her tried everything, but sadly after four rounds of intensive induction chemotherapy, Victoria passed away.  None of the treatments provided were able to control the disease and she never achieved any form of disease remission.  This meant that a potentially curative stem cell transplant never became an option.  

Victoria was the most wonderful wife and mother; her family meant everything to her.  She was a respected solicitor and an accomplished singer with a love for music and languages.  My life will never be the same without her and I’m still trying to come to terms with what has happened; however, I know that so much needs to be done to help others like her.  

Although advances have been made in the last few decades, there is still so much that we don’t fully understand about AML.  Many people are successfully treated, achieving a long term stable remission; however, there are still many whose disease is unresponsive to the available treatments.  Leukaemia and Lymphoma NI require donations to further develop new treatments to combat this cruel disease.  We now know that there are approximately seventy disease subtypes and only a handful of treatment options.  Only a small number of the disease subtypes have targeted treatments available. 

Gavin and I are supporting a great local charity.  The researchers funded through the charity have an international reputation, publishing regularly in highly cited academic journals, and there is now a critical mass of researchers in Northern Ireland focusing specifically on these blood and bone marrow cancers.  I have every confidence that this charity and the researchers that it helps to fund can make a huge impact, improving the prognosis for patients with these terrible diseases, and bringing new treatments and clinical trials to Northern Ireland.

Please, please, dig deep to support this amazing cause.  We need to actively support further research into AML and other blood and bone marrow cancers.  Our aim is to raise enough to fund a PhD studentship in Victoria's name.

Remember to give blood or platelets if you are able.  Many blood and bone marrow cancer patients require regular transfusions to support them during their treatment.

In June last year myself, Gavin and about 15 others participated in the Slieve Donard Moonlight Challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.