Over the years, I have donated to a number of people for many worthy causes, particularly those that were very special to them. I now have a heartfelt request for the same.

My very special cousin, Andrew Edwards, was sadly diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at the young age of 43. He bravely fought selflessly through treatment, with the strong support of incredible family and friends. But, sadly, the disease which many are familiar with and the stage at which he was diagnosed meant that he tragically passed away on 31 Dec 2020, aged just 46. He was an enormously inspirational person - a dedicated family man, life and soul of any party, always surrounded by friends and someone who made people feel special. He also had a successful career, well respected in the financial markets, having been CEO of ETX Capital and Saxo Bank UK. In addition, he completed many physical challenges, including the Marathon de Sables (6 marathons in 7 days in the Sahara Desert), ultra-marathons and even 2 marathons post diagnosis, one with one of his sons, Charlie, and one while on chemotherapy. For me personally, he was my oldest and one of my best friends. I miss him dearly and think of him so very often.

Out of the love and admiration we hold for Andrew, a group of family and friends have worked to organise a challenge event on 17 Sept 2022 in London, with the aim of 100s of participants running, walking, cycling or swimming 5,635 miles (distance from Johannesburg, where Andrew grew up, to London, where he lived most of his adult life) in the week of the challenge to raise £168,878 for colon cancer charity 40tude to fund a dedicated project to train radiographers and increase the accuracy of virtual colonoscopy. This is on top of £130,000 already raised by family and friends to support related charities.

I personally am hoping to run a marathon in the week of the challenge. Please dig deep for a very worthy cause in honour of a great man to help cure a disease likely to impact many of us in some way through our lives. Thank you, Sarah