As most of you know, I turn 40 on the 27th April... and as most of you also know, I am quite the fan of birthdays. But this year, instead of asking for gifts, I'd like to ask you to help me raise money for a charity that is very close to my heart.

Twelve months ago, I came to know more about secondary breast cancer than I ever expected, due to my sister in laws earth-shattering diagnosis.  Secondary breast cancer is a cancer that has spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body and there are around 35,000 patients in the UK living with this form of cancer.

It’s incredibly under-funded and I want to raise awareness of the disease, as well as raising money for the specialist charity that helps fund research and supports thousands of men and women with their diagnosis - Future Dreams. 

There is no cure – only treatment. And I plan to continue different ways of raising money that will help research secondary  breast cancer and develop new treatments that will help save lives (more on this to come soon).

For now, I’d like to ask that you don’t buy me a gift. The most important thing to me is that you donate the money you would have spent to my Just Giving page. Your donations can make a difference and support the critical medical research that helps us better understand this disease. My family and I will be putting secondary breast cancer first. Thank you for doing that too.