In June last year I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. I had seven months of treatment with chemotherapy and various other drugs, and I am now in remission and working towards getting back to some kind of normal (and I have some hair/eyebrows again so I look less like an alien, which is always nice). 

To say this will be a challenge is an understatement - any of you who have seen me on chemo will know that walking 10 metres was a struggle most of the time, let alone running 10 kilometres. While I am forever grateful to chemo for saving my life, I've been told it will take up to a year from the end of chemo to start to feel like myself again, and this race feels like a big step towards that. It is probably the biggest challenge I have set myself, and my only aims are to actually finish it (hopefully not absolutely last), and not be trampled by people going about 10 times as fast as me.

I've decided to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust, as they have been with me from the start of all this. I was treated as both an inpatient and outpatient on a TCT ward, and I honestly couldn't ask for anything more. The ward doesn't feel like you're in a hospital. It manages to be an almost enjoyable place to be in, with friendly staff, games, a tv/sofa area, and a kitchen for us to use. My key nurse, who is funded by TCT, has been there through all the difficult decisions and helped me adjust to the strange new worlds of life with cancer and life after cancer. TCT funds a huge range of activities both on and off the ward, which makes a massive difference when you are trapped in hospital, and when you're out of hospital it is a chance to meet other people who're going through something similar. They organise weekends away and events, fund specialist facilities and staff, and make sure that you don't have to go through cancer alone. 

Fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust means that more young people diagnosed with cancer will be able to receive this level of care and support, and I can honestly say that I don't know how I would have got through this without it.

I would really appreciate any amount of money you're able to give, even if it's just a couple of quid, it will be going to one of the best causes I can think of.