David Smith

David's page

Fundraising for Sarcoma UK
£1,730
raised of £500 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Event: London to Brighton Bike Ride, on 19 September 2021
Participants: John Smith, Ian Smith, Daniel Baron, Greg Gilson, Ian Phipps,
Sarcoma UK

Verified by JustGiving

RCN in England and Wales 1139869, Scotland SC044260
We fund sarcoma research and offer support to ensure patients get the care they need.

Story

After many long months of investigations into his stomach complaints, our dad was diagnosed on the 28th May 2020 with a rare form of soft tissue cancer with stage 4 primary tumours in his liver and spleen and various secondary tumours around his body. 

This was the most devastating news the family could have received especially in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and enforced lockdown preventing us from spending time together at a time when we were needed the most.

With a prognosis of the cancer being incurable and life limiting, dad started his chemotherapy treatment on the 2nd June 2020 with the intention to reduce the tumours and defy the doctors. His treatment is due to continue on a weekly basis until mid November at the Royal Marsden hospital, Chelsea.

At the young age of 66, still carrying out removals, working hard at the family business and playing squash/tennis on a weekly basis, our dad has always been fit, healthy and happy with his life.  If you're lucky enough to know him, you wouldn't expect anything like this would knock him down in his prime, which makes it even harder to accept that this cruel disease has done exactly that.

Dad's currently 2/3 of his way through the planned treatment and it's knocking him for six, however, he remains in good spirits and can still be found on the roof of his garage trimming the wysteria or with his head in a toilet repairing a leaking valve.

I have no idea what it feels like to be in dad's shoes at the moment but we want to show our superhero of a dad our love and support by challenging ourselves and raising money for an invaluable charity who are at the forefront of research and providing support to anyone affected by sarcoma.

Having not riden a bike further than a couple of miles, I'm joining a small team of family members, close friends and even some avid riders (pro's in comparison to me) to cycle 55 miles from London to Brighton in aid of Sarcoma-UK.  Although my fitness is quite good from the years following in dads footsteps in removals and playing squash, it will be a hell of a challenge for me to complete the ride but nothing like the challenge that dads going through at the moment. 

Whilst we’ve all been gearing up to complete the ride on 12 September 2020, we recently received the unfortunate news that the ride was being postponed until September 2021 due to COVID.  However, as a team, we still plan to complete the ride independently on Saturday 3 October 2020 and will do so again on the official event in 2021.

Please help us to raise as much money as possible for Sarcoma-UK together with increasing the awareness of this type of cancer.

Although I have opted to finish this challenge in the pub in Brighton, some of our team will even be completing the return leg from Brighton to London on the same day!  They really must be mad.

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About the charity

Sarcoma UK

Verified by JustGiving

RCN in England and Wales 1139869, Scotland SC044260
We are the only charity in the UK focusing on all types of sarcoma. Our mission is to increase knowledge and awareness of sarcoma through ground-breaking programmes to transform the landscape for everyone affected by sarcoma. Charity reg no. (1139869) Company limited by guarantee (7487432).

Donation summary

Total raised
£1,730.00
Online donations
£1,730.00
Offline donations
£0.00

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