Thank you for coming to my fundraising page. Or, should I say, ‘our page.’  It’s because of you, and people like you, that teenagers can receive the life saving cancer treatment they deserve, over and above the standard treatment offered to adults and the older population. 

Christian, my younger brother (although not so little now!), was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when he was just 16. Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system - a network of vessels and glands found throughout the body. 

Needless to say, for our family this was unfathomable and absolutely devastating. But, not for Christian, who continued to go to college throughout the entirety of his treatment, despite loosing all of his hair and being incredibly ill, play football every weekend, and even go to Reading Festival for what was, as I’ve heard, a rather crazy weekend…!

To say Christian took cancer in his stride, beat it, and then stomped all over it and back again is an understatement. We are in awe of his resilience and strength every single day and not once did he complain or feel sorry for himself (even when he had a reaction to the chemotherapy and had temporary partial paralysis in his legs and was unable to walk). 

Our parents were, and are, incredible. They paused their own lives, taking Christian to chemotherapy everyday in Oxford for 3 months at a time, and made sure Christian didn’t worry about anything apart from getting better. They took the world on their shoulders and absorbed all of it, which, contrary to popular belief, is more rare than you would think for teenage illness. 

Christian, at the ripe old age of 26, is stronger than ever. Still playing football every single weekend, still being the most resilient, fun loving and joyful person in the room, and still taking on the world as if his experience with cancer was but a blip. How he dealt and deals with his thoughts and feelings surrounding this time, we will never know, but what we do know is that we could have never dealt with it with the strength and integrity Christian did and continues to do.

We are so lucky we get to say these words and on the 10th anniversary of Christian’s diagnosis I am honoured to be able to run the London Marathon on behalf of Teenage Cancer Trust to raise money for cancer research and continue to support those who experience cancer in their lives. 1 in 2 of us will come up against it in some capacity, so let’s make it a thing of the past, and give teenagers the right treatment and the support they deserve. 

Please donate generously, you will, and are, saving lives. 

(All words and images have been shared with Christian’s permission). 

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