This is my son, Jake.

Looks good doesn't he?  The picture of health – fit, strong and happy.

But in 2010, he was diagnosed with leukaemia. He was 20 years old. It was April Fool’s Day.

And suddenly the world went very dark indeed.

He fought the cancer for nine months, and we thought he'd beaten it. But in January 2011, it returned. And on 1 April 2011 – one year to the day after his diagnosis – he was given a stem cell transplant to save his life. 

Finally, on 10 June 2011, he came home. But only after enduring the horrifying effects of a serious bladder infection as a result of GVHD (graft versus host disease).

It’s now more than two years since his transplant, and thankfully those awful times are behind us. And although the treatment has left its mark – his immune system will always be less effective than normal, and he has osteonecrosis (a bone-destroying condition) in his knees and hips – Jake refuses to give in.

In his typically determined and courageous way he has pushed himself back to fitness, to ‘being normal’ again. Five-a-side football, swimming, and regular sessions in the gym, followed by an intensive training course, have been rewarded – he is now a fully qualified fitness instructor and personal trainer. 

But the nightmare that engulfed him for so long, and the dreadful pain he endured, mean I can do nothing less than continue to ride against this truly awful disease.

For the thousands of people suffering from blood cancer today. The 30,000 others who are diagnosed every year and have yet to face this nightmare.
And for my darling boy. 

We must find a cure. Because until we do, every 17 minutes someone else will hear those shocking words, "You have blood cancer". Because that’s what happens. Day after day, year after year. Guaranteed.

In 2010 and 2011, I cycled the 52-mile London Bikeathon, to raise as much money as I could for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. Last year, I upped the ante and took on the 75-mile Box Hill Endurance Challenge. And with the wonderfully generous support of family, friends, work colleagues and even total strangers, have so far managed to raise £5,776.

This year – on Sunday 15 September – I’m going further still as one of 2,000 riders who are cycling 100 miles to try to raise a record-breaking £750,000 for the charity. And I’d really like to break the £7,000 mark by raising another £1,250 myself.

Money raised now won't help my son – or those who have already been diagnosed – but will go a long way in helping to find a permanent cure for those who will come after them.

Please help us fight back. Help us beat this insidious, brutal and heart-breaking disease.

Thank you so much.

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