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Fiona and I have two close friends, Shropshire artist Sheilagh Jevons, several of whose beautiful canvases adorn the walls our apartment, and her husband Tony Hurst. In 2007, Tony was diagnosed with bowel cancer, had an operation and appeared to make a good recovery. Then he and Sheilagh received the terrible news that tumours had appeared in his liver, but he had another operation and chemotherapy. Although severely weakened by all this, he again recovered and seemed to be doing well.

 

But in December 2009, scans showed a tumour at the base of his spine and two smaller growths in his lungs - a cruel blow to the couple after so much treatment and two years of constant anxiety.

 

Unbelievably, far worse was yet to come. In January 2010, Sheilagh developed a strange skin rash and a large blood-blister in her mouth which wouldn't go away. She also felt constantly tired, so decided to see her doctor. Within days, she was rushed to hospital with acute promyelocytic leukaemia, a lethal blood cancer which can kill within hours if not caught in time.

 

For the next 4 months she was in hospital, virtually in isolation owing to the collapse of her immune system, undergoing intense and debilitating chemotherapy. And her husband, now under threat from another serious and inoperable cancer, had effectively lost the one person who was making life bearable and supporting him.

 

I found it impossible to imagine how this lovely couple, who live blamelessly healthy lives, could cope with such dreadful misfortune, but cope they did, calmly and even cheerfully. Their courage is, frankly, astonishing.

 

My first thought was to help Sheilagh and Tony as much as I could. But my second was to help those who were helping them: the researchers, technicians, nurses, doctors and specialists who made it possible for them both to fight their diseases. So I conceived the Birmingham to Worcester Super-Marathon, in aid of the charity Beating Bowel Cancer, in honour of Tony Hurst and several members of my family who have been victims of bowel and related cancers, including my Mum, who died from ovarian cancer in 2000. And I determined that the next Super-Marathon in 2011 would be exclusively for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, in honour of my friend Sheilagh, whose life was saved by state-of-the-art medication. She is currently enjoying complete remission and is able once again to support Tony, who is now in Severn Hospice, Shrewsbury, gravely ill and in great pain from the tumour on his spine.

 

The 2010 Birmingham to Worcester event, planned, advertised and executed in barely three weeks, raised over £1,000 for Beating Bowel Cancer and a further £200 for other charities. (For the full story of my run, see www.justgiving.com/marksmee ) My goal for this year’s uphill, and therefore harder, 2011 event is to raise double last year’s total.

 

That’s where you come in. Please help by sponsoring me. It doesn’t matter if you can only afford a pound or two, anything you give will make a difference. Here are some facts for you:

 

- Around 28,500 people, from babies to grandparents, are diagnosed with blood cancer every year in the UK.

 

- Acute forms of leukaemia are rapidly fatal without effective treatment. Sheilagh owes her life to drugs invented during the last 40 years, particularly one called ATRA, which specifically targets the leukaemia cell abnormality that causes Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia.

 

- For leukaemia patients in general, 1-year survival rates have almost doubled since the early 1970s; 5-year survival rates have almost tripled; and around a third of leukaemia patients now survive beyond 10 years, compared to less than 10% in the early 1970s.

 

All the improvements in survival rates are the result of continuing research and development into means of treating and mitigating the effects of blood cancers. So any money I raise will help to save lives.

 

I believe that if I’m going to ask people to sponsor me, the task I set myself has to mean something. (I once attended a ‘Race For Life’ event where half the participants were walking the 5km course: what’s the point of that, and why should anyone sponsor people for mundane activities?) Preparing for a 31-mile run demands hundreds of hours of hard training in all weathers and, as I approach the age of 53, it doesn’t get easier, I can tell you! On Sunday 6^th March, I was out of the house at 07.30 and ran a full 26-mile marathon, alone and without backup, before breakfast. I’m prepared to put myself through this sort of thing because I believe passionately in the importance of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

 

But whatever commitment and tenacity I show in executing my run, it’s nothing compared to the courage of Sheilagh and Tony and the thousands of people like them, young and old, who battle life-threatening and terminal cancers. Please help me to help them by sponsoring me.

 

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.

 

With grateful thanks for your support,

 

Mark Smee