***UPDATE*** At 7.52am on 18 August 2012, Jo, Howard, Chris, Emma and Tom successfully reached Uhuru Peak, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, 5895m above sea level - the highest free-standing mountain in the world, along with the 4 other members of the extended Chambers family.

Having walked for 5 days to reach base camp, we started our final ascent to reach the summit at 11.50pm on 17th, walking for 8 gruelling hours in the pitch black and freezing temperatures. It was both a physical and emotional challenge for all who took part, but we were determined to "be the best we could be" and continue on our journey.

We are grateful for all the donations and support we have received so far - we are proud to have been able to reach the summit and do our bit to help raise awareness of Pancreatic Cancer in memory of Simon.

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

On 13 August 2012, Jo, Howard, Chris, Emma and Tom, along with other members of the extended Chambers family will start our ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It will be 6 months and one day since our family friend Simon Fenn passed away after a short and aggressive battle with pancreatic cancer. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to raise money in his memory.

Having just turned 29, Simon was a personal trainer and fitness instructor with degrees from three universities - he competed in numerous marathons and triathlons, including three Ironman races and had represented Great Britain in the duathlon. Just before he became ill in October 2011, Simon ran the Amsterdam Marathon in 3 hours and 9 minutes, qualifying him for the elite entrants to the London Marathon. Surely one of the world’s least likely candidates for cancer?

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of all cancers - only 3% - and it is the only cancer that has seen no improvement in survival rates in the last 40 years. 8,000 people each year in the UK are diagnosed with this vicious form of cancer and yet it is considerably under-researched. It is a disease that is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat because it is unusually aggressive, symptoms are often vague and appear at a late stage as with Simon, and surgery is very difficult.

Simon lived his life to the full and was an Ironman in every regard. He bravely faced his illness with courage and dignity, demonstrating the same strength as he did during all of his sporting achievements.

Before he died Simon requested one thing, that everyone take every opportunity to "be the best you can be" - we hope that we can draw on some of Simon's inspiration to succeed in our challenge to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. We are aiming to raise £5,895 - £1 for every metre that we climb. All funds will go to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund to help find out more about how to defeat this devastating cancer.

We are a small family group that is supporting Team Zeemon, a charity that has been created in memory of Simon, by his wife and parents, to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and raise funds. To find out more go to the website www.teamzeemon.org.uk.

Thank you for taking the time to read our page and if you can contribute anything towards our target we will be extremely grateful.

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 - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.