This page was set up by Kamal Aftab after he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. After bravely fighting AML for close to two months, Kamal passed away with peace and great dignity on Friday 7 August, 2015. Kamal was an amazing human being, full of vibrancy and charity, who always placed others before himself. To honour his life and legacy, a large group of his family and friends are now continuing his challenge by helping the meet the £50,000 target that he desired to meet and was certainly on course to achieving.

Please find Kamal's original message and story below.

Lots of love and thanks,

Kamal's family and friends

________________________

Dear World,

Around three weeks ago I was diagnosed with a blood cancer: Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. It has been one of the toughest challenges of my life. Due to the seriousness of the cancer, I was immediately admitted to hospital (St. James' in Leeds) and am now several weeks into a three-month treatment involving a cocktail of chemotherapy and a host of other drugs.

I suppose that people in my situation react in a whole host of ways; some feel utter despair; others, a sudden sense of mortality and most, a bit of everything... As for me, I'm an optimist by nature and while different people look for strength in various places, it's my belief in God and prayer that have carried me through the challenges of cancer.

My name is Kamal and I'm a 32-year old 'Yorkshireman'. I'm an optometrist by profession, but my passion has always been in volunteering. I love working for my charity initiative to offer the gift of sight to sub-Saharan Africans with visual impairments. I've climbed mountains, run marathons, and had the opportunity to raise tens of thousands of pounds for several UK charities. Volunteering is part of whom I am and I was incredibly humbled last year when the UK public voted me as the 2014-2015 Guardian National Volunteer of the year. Over a decade of dedicating my life to volunteering has taught me an important lesson: you are only as desperate as your mind and heart allow you to be!

Cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in my case, has only deepened my love of volunteering and only heightened my realisation of how important charity is. So I’m challenging myself to complete a very special marathon for charity during my chemotherapy treatment: a marathon while confined to my five square-metre room, armed only with a pedometer and a smile.

And so I'm asking you to sponsor my 'Hospital Marathon'. Help me to raise £50K for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research (LLR). You can help advance the research for a cure, help those suffering from Leukaemia and support their loved ones.

A penny or a pound, thank you and God bless.

Kamal

You can follow me on twitter or contact me by e-mail if you would like to know more about my treatment and Hospital Challenge:

Twitter: @_kamal82 

E-mail: kamalschallenge@gmail.com