Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In February and March 2019, I will be trekking across Costa Rica from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean to raise money for the Princess Alexandra Hospital Breast Cancer Unit Charity. The walk will be tough, crossing difficult terrain. The trek crosses high mountains, through rain and cloud forest and coastal jungle. It will be hard work but should be a fantastic experience.

I am raising money for our local breast unit charity which does fantastic work. I see first hand through my work as a local GP, the effects of this awful disease but also the benefits of having a first class breast unit on our doorstep.

The money the breast cancer unit charity raise is used to fund specialist clinical trials equipment, introduce new initiatives and support further research. Breast cancer clinical trials improve understanding of the disease, leading to new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat breast cancer. 350 breast cancer patients are diagnosed at St Margaret’s hospital each year. Of these, around 10% will benefit from treatments that aren’t standard on the NHS.

Over 30 breast cancer clinical trials have been conducted at the Princess Alexandra and St Margaret’s Hospitals. These trials have led to many new FDA and EU approved drugs including Herceptin, Lapatinib, Pertuzumab, Everolimus, and Exemestane. These successes mean that the charity bids nationally to be one of the main centres for clinical trials. This is a huge triumph, given that previously access to investigational medicines was restricted to university hospitals.

Please help me to raise money for this fantastic charity by donating through my Just Giving Page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity. You can also donate by texting MCPE55 £ and then the amount to 70070.

Thank you for your help.

Mark