Anne's Story...

At the age of 32, Claire's sister and our great friend Anne Aurousseau developed a mysterious hacking cough. Then weight loss occurred and the mother of three beautiful children, Ben then aged 6, Eleanor 4 and Olive 2 became debilitated by this cough which took up most of her energy. Despite continuous medical referrals, professionals were unable to discern what was wrong.

Eventually afer a distressing year and a half she was diagnosed wrongly with thyroid cancer resulting in a complete thyroidectomy (the removal of her thyroid) plus the removal of a tumour 8cms at its largest diameter.

Unfortunately her ailments continued, and through various scans and appointments with specialists she was identified as having an exceptionally unique and rare form of cancer, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC), originating in her trachea.

ACC is an unusually rare cancer, with a very high liklihood of reccurance. There is currently no cure.

Less than 25 people per year in the UK develop this cancer. There is also presently no funding for research undertaken in Britain by the large Cancer Charities to find a cure, or a new drug therapy to manage the disease.

After a gruelling 6 week course of radiotherapy Anne contracted pneumonia and was admitted into intensive care where she was gravely ill and only hours from dying.  She fought heroically back from this and investigations shortly after showed that she was free from the cancer.

Unfortunately last August Anne was told that the cancer had returned, this time in her lungs. This lead to another year of uncertainty and mixed medical advice about treatment. Having undergone a treatment to destroy some of the tumours in her lungs Anne contracted pleurisy (an infection in the lining of her lungs) which lead to one of her lungs collapsing. Despite coping with the magnitude of living with this disease Anne, her partner Jamie and their three young children show remarkable bravery, determination and as much positivity as humanely possible.

Anne currently has 20 tumours in her lungs and Get A-Head is directly funding a research trial that Anne has recently become a participant in.  This trial involves trying to find a specific drug therapy that will target her tumours. Any money that is raised by Get A-Head will directly affect the future of Anne's cancer treatment.

The Rusty Riders...

We are a group of 6 very close friends, including Anne, who have been devastated by Anne's diagnosis of ACC. We have all been friends for over 20 years and have shared some amazing times and holidays together. We have taken up the challenge to enter a 79k bike ride in Brighton on 29th September to raise as much money as we can through sponsorship for Get A-Head.

The knowledge that the money we now raise for Get A-Head will directly affect Anne's treatment has made it even more important for us to undertake this challenge and raise as much money as we can. 

It is quite a while since many of us have ridden a bike so it will mean lots of lycra, sweat and tears in dedicated training for the ride!  

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