Sunday 10th April 2010 We made to the top of Penyghent on a beautiful blue sky day in the Yorkshire Dales. Thank you so much for your support for AMMF. We will continue to fund raise until after our joint 60th/retirement party that Susan and I are holding at the end of July'

A memorable day indeed for Joe and me.

In November 2009 I was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (cc). This is a very rare liver cancer occurring in the bile duct. For every 100,000 cancer diagnoses in the UK only 1 is cc. There are as yet no medically accepted treatment routes for cc.

 

If diagnosed early - as in my case - the only current possible medical intervention is  'Whipple' surgery known as a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy - try saying that on a full stomach!  Whipple sounds like something nice - an ice cream perhaps but I can definitely confirm that it is not quite so tempting. There are no standard chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cc.

 

I underwent a 'Whipple' operation and a chemotherapy trial at St James's Hospital, Leeds under surgeon Mr KV Menon and oncologist Dr DEB Swinson - tremendous individuals at a wonderful facility. My 2010 journey from diagnosis involved six hours of surgery, four days in high dependency, five months of trying not to cough and seven months of a chemotherapy trial.

 

I feel very fortunate indeed to have been given an 'all clear' scan 12 months down the line - one year survival rates for late-diagnosis cc are extremely low.

 

I am raising funds for AMMF - the Alan Morement Memorial Foundation - which is the only UK registered charity working to raise awareness of cc and to seek to find as yet unknown medically approved treatments. All funds raised will go towards the work of the Foundation and support research projects in the UK.

 

On the 10th April I will be undertaking a climb up Pen-y-ghent in the Yorkshire Dales. I will be taking along my grandson Joseph Albert on  his first birthday. He has been a major factor in my recovery along with family, friends and work colleagues - especially those who have taken their own 'cancer journey'. Pen-y-ghent is a climb that I have enjoyed several times but I obviously thought such trips were a thing of the past.

We plan to celebrate with fish & chips afterwards. With the degree of internal re-plumbing entailed in a 'whipple' operation I also thought that such a treat was not possible in the future.

 

Also I reach a certain age on St Patrick's Day this year and as part of my 60th birthday celebrations I am requesting donations to AMMF in lieu of presents.

 

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 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.