On the 31st of December 2020, my husband Mark's cousin, Andrew Edwards, passed away at the age of 46 after a 3 year battle with bowel cancer. Andrew was a family man whose life was tragically cut short by Bowel Cancer. He left behind his wife Caroline and teenage boys Oliver, Charlie, and Riley. Andrew enjoyed a successful City Career, and was widely respected as CEO of Saxo Markets UK and ETX Capital. He was also an accomplished sportsman who completed the Marathon de Sables in 2015 and completed the London Marathon twice, the second time post his diagnosis whilst wearing his chemo pump. His oncologist, the eminent Professor Cunningham of the Royal Marsden Hospital, described Andrew as “an extraordinary man, held in the highest esteem by all the team at the Royal Marsden” and “one of the most incredible people I have had the privilege to look after.” Andrew was not aware that he had Bowel Cancer until it was too far progressed. If diagnosed earlier, his life could have been saved. We were the exact same age, born 4 days apart.

Andrew's family and friends are coming together on the 17th of September to celebrate Andrew with the passion he lived by.  We will collectively aim to complete the challenge of running/walking/cycling the 5,635 miles from Johannesburg (where Andrew grew up) to London and will be raising money for the UK Bowel Cancer charity 40TUDE. 40TUDE's purpose is to transform the early detection and treatment of colon cancer and to promote awareness of the need to be screened regularly. Bowel cancer is one of the easiest cancers to treat if it is detected early. 

I am reaching out to family and friends to help me and I thank you in advance with any support you are able to offer.