My name is Andrea Sheardown, I’m 50, married and have 3 beautiful
children aged 20, 18, & 10. I would like to share my story with you to raise awareness about the deadly cancer called Cholangiocarcinoma and raise lots of money for The UK’s only Cholangiocarcinoma charity called the AMMF. 

In October 2015, my world was turned upside down when I was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma a very rare form of bile duct cancer.  It is known as one of the ‘silent killer cancers’, and has one of the worst survival rates of all cancers as It is difficult to diagnose accurately and early, so by the time of diagnosis it is often too advanced for surgery – which is currently the only potential cure.   I had been experiencing some severe pain and discomfort in my ribcage and initially it was put down to strained muscles, however on further investigation and X-rays a mass was detected on my liver.
After initially been given just weeks to live I managed to defy the odds and go on to have major surgery to my liver in November 2015 to remove the cancer, and this was then followed by a gruelling six
months of chemotherapy.  At times, I was left feeling very ill and weak and in and out of hospital, but giving up never entered my
head!

This cancer is increasing across all age groups, including younger people, and the cause of this ongoing increase is unknown. Much more research is desperately needed. AMMF is the UK’s only cholangiocarcinoma charity, dedicated to tackling this devastating cancer on all fronts: providing information and support, campaigning to raise awareness, and encouraging and supporting research.

Over the past 5 years and with the help of my family and friends now aptly nicknamed ‘Andreas AMMF Army’, I have organised lots of fundraising events in aid of The AMMF cancer charity. Some of these have included - Charity Ladies Nights, climbing ‘The Three Peaks’, Firewalking, Cycle Events, Bag Packing and organising the Christmas Polar Post for children. I have also taken on some more serious challenges and been lucky enough to have been joined by my husband, children and my AndreasAMMFArmy of friends, these
epic challenges have included: -

February 2018 – Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

February 2019 – Cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia

February 2020 – Climbing to Everest Base Camp!

So far, thanks to the generosity of family, friends and local businesses, all these fundraising activities have helped me to raise over £80,000 for The AMMF!

I am continuing to have scans every few months and have been told this devastating cancer could come back at any stage, setting myself these challenges has helped me to stay positive and focused.

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the smaller charities like the AMMF, so it is even more important than ever to support them. I plan to do lots more fundraising events throughout 2022, leading up to my next big challenge to cycle 1,000km across Thailand in February 2023.

Thailand has the world's highest incidence of this deadly cancer cholangiocarcinoma, so I wanted to combine my fundraising efforts to not only raise awareness here in the UK, but more globally too.  I will be joined on this challenge by my 20 year old daughter Amelia, my 18 year old son Sam, along with 23 other amazing friends. Many of these friends have joined me on my previous trips too! The 26 of us will be cycling just under 1,000 km over 9 days, starting in Bangkok and following the hilly costal routes to Phuket. This will be one of my biggest endurance challenges so far, combining both the mental and physical challenge of the bike ride, with the extreme heat conditions we will also be facing!   

** This trip should have happened in February 2022, but due to current covid restrictions in place in Thailand, we have had to postpone our trip until February 2023! **

You can also follow my fundraising adventures via my

Facebook page called AndreasAMMFArmy.  Any donations big or small would be gratefully received and will help make a difference to this under-funded and neglected cancer Cholangiocarcinoma.

Thank you so much for taking the time to ready my story – Andrea #AndreasAMMFArmy

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