As some of you may or may not be aware, my wonderful dad was diagnosed with Myeloma last year.

Without going into too much detail about his journey, what I can say is I am extremely proud of just how strong he has been, and how determinedly he has battled through everything that has been thrown at him, from symptoms to misdiagnosis; diagnosis to treatment, and everything else beyond that, that comes as part of the Myeloma package.

For those that don’t know, Myeloma is a relapsing and remitting, incurable blood cancer, that has no single symptom, and the most recognisable symptoms are common and often linked to general ageing or minor conditions, making it difficult to detect (and why diagnosis is delayed for so many, with more than half of myeloma patients waiting over 5months for the correct diagnosis…!).

In an attempt to raise both funds and awareness, this year I am going to run the Great North Run in aid of Myeloma UK.

Myeloma UK's research aims to help patients live longer and live better with myeloma, with a cure as an ultimate goal. Research is critically important because myeloma is a complex cancer with no known cure. Myeloma UK receive no core Government funding and rely almost entirely on voluntary donations and fundraising. So every pound I raise will make a difference to myeloma patients by helping to fund vital research to discover new effective and safer treatments.

Given I can barely run 3km currently, a half marathon is going to be a huge challenge for me, but nothing close to the challenge faced by Myeloma patients.

If you are able, I would hugely appreciate your support. Be that by way of donation, or by taking time to read up on Myeloma, and sharing as much information as you can.

Thank you ❤️

Emily x