Andrew Wilkinson

Andrew and Jeanette's 60 year bash fundraiser for Climbers Against Cancer

Fundraising for Climbers Against Cancer
€600
raised of €500 target
Climbing, 23 July 2023
We fund research & therapeutic initiatives to improve the lives of those with cancer

Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On my 59th birthday, last July, it occurred to me that it would be nice to "celebrate" (not convinced that's the right term!) my 60th birthday in a year's time by undertaking some sort of fun climbing challenge, to prove to myself that I wasn't entirely past it if nothing else. I also thought it would be nice to do it as a charity fundraiser, with something in aid of cancer research being a natural choice, since both my parents having been affected by cancer prior to their deaths, and my father in law had been taken by liver cancer at a relatively early age.

My idea was to complete 10 sport routes of grade 6a or above in a day - 10 times 6 equalling 60. Not super challenging admittedly, but as my onsight grade was only around 6b, not super easy either. I managed to sell the idea to my wife (my main climbing partner) who would have turned 60 a few months prior, so would do the same challenge with me.

A few weeks after coming up with the idea, in the sort of twist of fate that generally gets the phrase "fickle finger of" attached to it, I was sent for a bone marrow biopsy to investigate some alarming looking blood counts taken as part of an unrelated medical investigation. The results of this (confirmed by follow-up genetic profiling) revealed I had a rare bone marrow cancer called Refractory Anaemia Myelodysplasia, with some not entirely encouraging mutations to go with it. I wrote a small blog post that has a few more details: https://maggotbrain.blog/2023/05/12/myelodysplasia-a-journey-of-discovery/

Since diagnosis, due to effects of the anaemia and associated tiredness and weakness, the challenge has morphed into something a bit less personally taxing - knocking out 12 sport routes of grade 5a or above in a short day (I tend to involuntarily fall asleep in the afternoon). We hope to complete these in under two hours - so 60 minutes each to continue the "60" theme, although as one of us (won't say who ;-) ) is a bit ponderous in her climbing, this might be a stretch.

We're looking at doing this as close to my birthday as my wife's work commitments allow towards end of July, at this location:

Diarizos Cyprus Rocks

This is in Cyprus - so rain shouldn't be a problem, although heat might be!

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.

Share this story

Help Andrew Wilkinson

Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations

You can also help by sharing this link on

About the charity

To raise funds & awareness concerning cancer, for the benefit of research into prevention, causes & treatments of the disease, as well as for activities that can help sufferers & their families cope emotionally and physically with the challenges of living with & beyond a cancer diagnosis & treatment

Donation summary

Total raised
€599.80
+ €8.65 Gift Aid
Online donations
€599.80
Offline donations
€0.00

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.