My hilarious, wonderful and loving bestest friend Chloe was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer in 2020.  Since then we've all been on a loop-the-loop cancer roller coaster ride alongside her, and with thanks to Merv Rees at Basingstoke Hospital this roller coaster train has not yet come to a full and complete stop.  Merv has, and continues to, push the boundaries to give us all more time with Chloe in our lives. He is renowned across the UK for pushing limits and giving patients the best possible outcomes.  My family and I are extremely grateful for the chances he has taken on Chloe to date, and just this week will be pushing boundaries further as she begins a series of trial treatment to, with luck, help her to continue living well throughout 2022. 

Merv Rees has set up this charity,  It's a really important charity which drives innovation and development in bowel, bladder, prostate and liver cancer through research and education, and advancing precision surgery and treatment. Their message is different. Their focus is on surgery which often provides the best outcomes but is often neglected. 

 The Pelican Cancer Foundation is curing more below-the-belt-cancers every day by making precision treatments better and better. Every day 50 people die of bowel cancer, and prostate cancer kills 10,000 men every year. Pelican supports research into the best way to diagnose and treat below the belt cancers, avoiding over and under treatment, therefore giving patients the best chance of a cure and a long term quality of life.

Please, please help us to fundraise for them - none of us know what the future has in store. Chloe certainly didn't, and we're so grateful that Chloe has been/is being treated by Merv Rees and his team. 

PS -  10,000 steps will be no walk in the park! (Much, much longer in fact....I'm chained to a laptop for 8 hrs a day and Phoebe, my ten year old daughter, is sat at a school desk for 6 hrs per day....this challenge will require dedication right to the end!)