Wow. Thank you for your support and sponsorship. You are amazing.

Our story… 

In April 2022 everything was perfect: family, kids, friends, home, career. Then our world turned upside down and inside out. Forever. It can never again be anywhere close to perfect. 

My wife Marie was suddenly diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. We were on our first day of a short holiday. Her only symptoms were increasing tiredness and back ache. There were no red flags, with these symptoms hardly surprising given three children and nearing middle age. 

For six months we fought for every minute that we could have together and with the kids. Her burden was gargantuan: hospital procedures, chemo, the mental burden of being told she will die and knowing she would not get to see her children grow up. During this fight she caught no breaks. There were no effective treatments on offer - anywhere. We stole away for a few days with the kids, we couldn’t go far. We broke her out of hospital one evening to see her daughter’s play. She never got close to seeing the final trip in the sun she wanted or to take the kids to Disney, the cancer burden was just too great. She did not once complain, she dug in and fought for her life and her family. The knowledge that she realised all this was coming would be unbearable to most. 

Marie died in October 2022 aged 39, just 6 days before her 40th birthday. The hole left in our lives is immeasurable and will never be filled. 

Why am I doing this? In the hope that one day people with pancreatic cancer will get a break. That through this story people become more alert to minor symptoms and more robustly chase diligent medical advice. That diagnosis will be sooner. That eventually there will be a cure - or even just a working treatment. 

What are the stats? More than half of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within 3 months. Symptoms are vague, so many are categorised as stage 3 or 4, which means the cancer has spread and is typically terminal. It increasingly affects younger people. Survival rates have improved enormously for most cancers, yet for pancreatic cancer, this is not the case. It will soon be the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Yet only 3% of cancer funding in the UK is dedicated to pancreatic cancer. 

Why Pancreatic Cancer UK? The charity is dedicated to taking on this injustice using every possible means. They're supporting people with pancreatic cancer now, campaigning, and funding vital research to transform the future. We need to help them to make the breakthroughs that people with pancreatic cancer so desperately need. So other families do not have to suffer as we have. 

What can you do? Sponsor me. It’s as simple as that. I’ll do the hard work during the marathon, you provide some money to keep me going through the inevitable tough sections. If you know me well, and particularly if you’ve asked for sponsorship previously, then you’ll know I put a lot of support into the fundraising of others. Now it’s time to return the favour. Dig deep. It will be remembered. It is not only myself who will be hugely grateful, but also my family and thousands of others suffering with pancreatic cancer. 

We plan to do a lot more for and with Pancreatic Cancer UK. 

You can follow our fundraising efforts here: Just Giving Team page. 

And our story: PCUK In Memory page.

Just ahead of my Marathon, we have a 45km walk across London, 'Miles for Marie in The Royal Parks', you can join us, our family & friends, or sponsor the group; for further information see here: Click here for more information on the Miles for Marie in The Royal Parks 45km walk. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and supporting our fundraising efforts. 

Love, Rob x