Thank you for visiting our page! From the 18th July we will be cycling, walking, or running the distance between the 3 Centres of Excellence for Behçet’s Disease from the safety of our local areas. The 3 centres are based in London, Birmingham and Liverpool, a total distance 226 miles! Either individually, or as part of a team, each person involved will be completing the 226 miles over 13 weeks. This means covering 17.3 miles on the bike or on foot each week. We are raising money for Behçet’s UK, a small charity with a big heart, that supports patients and their families throughout their Behçet’s journey. Behçet’s is a rare autoimmune, autoinflammatory, vasculitic disease affecting around 2000 people throughout the UK. Behçet’s causes widespread inflammation in the body and attacks all systems and organs causing an array of different symptoms such as chronic fatigue, brain fogs, memory loss, mouth and genital ulcers, gastrointestinal issues, skin lesions, extreme headaches, eye inflammation (which can lead to blindness), joint issues (which can lead to rheumatoid arthritis) and neuro Behçet’s can severely affect the brain.  It is very difficult to diagnose and can be very difficult to treat. Treatment usually involves multiple medications to control the inflammation and reduce the symptoms. 

I was diagnosed with Behçet’s in 2014 at the age of eleven. There are very children diagnosed with Behçet’s as it is usually identified when people are in their mid to late 20s and early 30s. 

The Centres of Excellence in England have been integral in reducing the time it takes to diagnose Behcets, funding and promoting life-altering treatments, undertaking important studies into future treatments, and recognising the need for a multi-professional team approach to the disease. At the moment, the Centres are only set up in England. Behcets UK and the health care professionals at the Centres are fully engaged in campaigning for Centres, or multi-disciplinary clinics, to be introduced to the devolved nations. This will take time but by raising awareness and the profile of Behcets Disease more people will understand the need for patients with this disease to receive specialist care.Within our team there are 5 patients with Behcets taking on the challenge. Each of us have our own stories, our own Behcets challenges, our own reasons for wanting to take part. At the heart of it is the desire to raise awareness, break down the barriers that surrounds our disease, and put a positive spin on the current pandemic. We are joined by family members, friends, and people who work at the Centres, all of which are connected to Behcets in their own way and want to support all those suffering the effects of this disease. By donating to Behcets UK you are supporting a small charity, fully reliant on public fundraising to continue its incredible work to support patients and their families, which is especially important at this time.