I am raising money for Cure Leukaemia Chief Executive James McLaughlin on his Run The Nations challenge this September as he looks to complete his BIGGEST challenge to date.

James will be tackling over 220 miles across 14 days as he runs through 16 different cities to raise funds for blood cancer patients across the UK and I will be joining him along the route.

My son Joe is currently battling Leukaemia. Back in February 2020, at the age of 6 he was diagnosed with CML, which is incurable and is a very rare blood cancer with very limited treatments available. He was also diagnosed with AVN in his hip which limits his walking. He is now on his last treatment for his CML as we have exhausted all the other medication which have been very toxic for Joe, although his current treatment plan is working better he is making slow progress, this is a real battle for him, as he struggles with the daily side effects, which can be debilitating for him. He is still undergoing 6 monthly cancer checks and as his Mum, I want to raise money for Cure Leukaemia so that better treatments can be found which are less toxic to children of Joe’s age and adults. I appreciate that we are in unprecedent times and financially, things are tough for many people but any donation big or small would mean a lot to both of us.

Joe’s Story

I’ve had cancer now for a long time and I’ve got used to it. I wish I didn’t have to take my tablets every day because they make me tired and make me feel really sick. I used to play football and rugby and taekwondo which I used to really enjoy, but I had to stop because of AVN in my right hip. My friends at school understand and they do try and help me.

Sometimes I still feel really sad and wish I didn’t have it anymore so I could feel like everyone else. I wanted to help raise money for this charity as I hope one day a cure could be found for me. If I could give advice to anyone else, it would to be strong and know that you will get through it and it does get easier.