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 In June 2012 at the age of 47 I was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer, this illness was something that I knew a great deal about as my father was diagnosed with the same illness at 50 and died at 54. The worst case of Deja Vu imaginable for my family...........! A few months after my diagnosis I underwent a pretty brutal course of Radio & Chemotherapy and then in November of that year I had surgery to remove a large portion of my bowel and  a stoma was fitted ( that's a whole other story though!!)...3 months more Chemo followed then 9 months later the stoma was reversed ! ( Now I know how baby's feel ...thank god for Sudocrem ). 1 year after my operation the Cancer was back, but this time it had spread to my liver, 2 tumours were found but in an area that they could operate, so under the knife I went and had most of my liver removed ,some months later I was back to normal, minus a few innards but with some decent scars to show off ! Another 12 months later a scan revealed that the Cancer was back again and this time it wasn't going away.....!! I opted for some more Chemotherapy , now I would have to live forever to complete my bucket list but I am  making a dent in it ! So as soon as I was able I headed over to America with my great friend Paul Campbell where we both rode Harley Davidson's around Florida ( when my Dad died I promised myself that I would do this at the age of 50.....I'd made it ...yeeee ha ! ) Paul and I did 900 miles in 6 days and boy, was it challenging , the hurricane that we got caught in and Paul's sense of humour didn't help! Although all the treatments and surgery's have taken their toll if you have been touched by Cancer you'll know that it's as much the side affects as it is the illness itself that debilitates you. So here's what we are going to do, but this time, with YOUR help others will benefit............................!

On 14th March Paul and I are heading to Las Vegas where , the following day (15th) we are picking up 2 Harley Davidsons and heading off into the sunset, or sunrise depending on what time we leave. The route that we are going to take is around 1400 miles from Las Vegas to Winslow Arizona, through Phoenix, Yuma, Mexicali,San Diego then back up to Las Vegas via the Californian Coast , Palm Springs and some of Route 66. This is 7 days riding with a rest day in between and another at the end ( and a few weeks recovering when we get home ! ) On our last trip Paul secretly appeared wearing  a mustache  ( as seen in the picture )  which caused his nickname of "Bandito" to stick and some pretty strange looks from the passers by !! I couldn't do this trip without Paul and I'm sure that we will both be reminded of that regularly whilst travelling .

Macmillan Cancer Support have helped me, my family and friends and with YOUR donations they will continue to help in the future .

Thank you

Mark Burnside and Paul Campbell (AKA)

Burnsie and Bandito

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