I am immensely proud to be a patron of Frank's Fund, an independent charity set up by the family of Frank Ashton - a young boy from my hometown - to help Bone Cancer Research Trust in their mission to fund much needed research into Ewing Sarcoma. 

Frank's family contacted me as he went to the same school as me. In 2016, he was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma aged just 11 years old, and underwent fourteen cycles of chemotherapy, two months of proton therapy in the US, and a horrific 8 hour operation to remove the tumour and a substantial part of his pelvis. Throughout all this, Frank remained a positive, resilient and courageous boy in the toughest of times, learning how to walk again, rebuilding his life and getting back to school. 

However in September 2017, after just 5 months in remission, the disease returned, and after further endless cycles of chemotherapy, Frank died in February 2019, aged just 15 years old.

Ewing Sarcoma most commonly affects children and young adults aged 10-25 years old and makes up about 1.5% of all childhood cancers. A child, teenager or adult is diagnosed with primary bone cancer every 10 minutes, but primary bone cancer received just 0.04% of funding from the major UK cancer charities in 2017/18 and shockingly their investment in the disease dropped by 43% to a 16-year low. Treatment protocols are out of date and gruelling. It’s a scandal that the lack of investment means that neither treatment nor survival rates have improved in over 30 years and that there’s so little chance of survival if it returns.

Last year, Frank's family and I were able to organise a big comedy fundraiser at the school Frank and I attended, with performances from Rosie Jones, Tom Lucy and Barbara Nice. It was a brilliant night full of the things Frank loved; comedy, curry and a good time. Obviously with the current pandemic climate, we're unable to do that again this year so instead I'm attempting to shift the lockdown timber and raise money for a fantastic cause at the same time, by running a Marathon in a Month. Please donate whatever you can to help this incredible charity, set up by an incredible family, in the name of their incredible boy. 

Thank You, 

Maisie Adam x