When our then eight-year-old twins heard the news that their daddy had advanced oesophageal cancer, they both ran upstairs to their money boxes, and begged us to give the contents to a cancer charity, as they believed this would help to make him better. Although oncologists only gave Phil a 16% chance of surviving, we decided to take the boys' lead and actually do something positive as a family to raise money, and to get involved with actively helping his cause.

Since then, we've raised over £1000 for Macmillan by doing all sorts of crazy sporting events as a family. Throughout all of this, Phil has had two nine-week long courses of chemotherapy, punctuated by an oesophagogastrectomy in October.

This year, we want to celebrate the fact that Phil has had so much more time than we'd been led to expect, and look forward to the future, by raising some funds for the OPA - a little-known charity working hard to raise awareness and offer support to oesophageal cancer patients and their families. The survival rate for this type of cancer is currently so low because the symptoms don't usually present themselves until it's too late, so any help we can give to raise more awareness might just save a life.

Please help us to support this important cause by encouraging us to do several stupid things in return for your sponsorship. Frankly, we'd probably do most of these things anyway "for fun," but it'll help us to get to the finishing line more easily if you chip in. :)

Thank you!

Phil, Ellie, Alex and Ben Clift xx

9th May - Great Manchester Junior Run (2 miles) - Alex & Ben 

DONE!

10th May - Great Manchester Run (10 km) - Phil & Ellie

DONE!

24th May - Manchester-Liverpool Cycle (55 miles) - Alex, Ellie & Deb

DONE!

4th July - Manc Spartan Race (7 km + obstacles and mud) - Ellie, Luan, Harry & Faye

          Manchester Spartan Kids' Race - Alex, Ben & Lottie

          Chief bag-holder and mud-wiper - Phil

12th July - Manchester-Blackpool Cycle (60 miles) - Alex & Ellie

8th Nov - Men's Health Survival of the Fittest (10 km + obstacles and mud) - Ellie

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.