Hiya, this is a surprisingly difficult bit of prose to write for me. I don't think anyone who knows me has ever seen me move at anything other than a 'brisk stroll', never mind 'run'. But I've decided to make the foray into "charity-based-exercise" as my Dad was diagnosed with oespophageal cancer last January. It was caught incredibly early by an eagle-eyed doctor at Barnsley General and was operated on by Mr Jacob at Doncaster Royal infirmary on 22 February 2010 to remove a malignant tumor.

Less than 25% of people diagnosed with cancer of the oespophagus are able to be operated on because most of the symptoms only arise too late for anything to be done, and without an operation the majority of people have less than 6 months to live.

Thankfully Dad's op went really well (no cancerous cells found in the surrounding lymph nodes) and he's been home now for 4 weeks, but proper recovery is still going to take 4-6 months at least.

Anyway, the least I can do is to help raise some money to support Cancer Research UK and the work they are doing to help other people like my Dad.

Many thanks is advance for your donations

(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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity).

Cheers

Robin