Post-run

Wow... thank you so much for the donations and support. I don't think any of us expected anything like £17,000... which is over £20,000 with Gift Aid. It's unbelievable.

Frank had an amazing day at the Great Manchester Run. So many came out to support, there were double runs, huge personal bests, some did something they didn't imagine they could do, and Jamie not only got around the whole 10km, but made a run to the finish.

We will post our pictures in the media and updates sections - though for the most part, we just succeeded in soaking up a beautiful day!

Donations will remain open until 3rd June, after which we'll take a final total. If you would like to donate, please do so before then! And again - thank you. Mount Vernon are not only close to our hearts for looking after Jamie, but for looking after the family of others too over the years. For this money to go towards that, both in for the past and in recognition of what they are doing right now, means the world to us.

Pre-run

We at Frank have done this for a few years now, but never before have I not been able to find the words to describe it... and I do need to write something.

Unfortunately, a lot of us have witness the struggle of cancer. Even more so some among us have to live it every day. It's touched all of us at Frank recently, during a personal battle with cancer for one of our loved colleagues. It's still hard for that to sink in...

This year, our fundraiser and trot around Manchester mean so much more.

Rather than our usual 4 or 5 runners, over 12 of the Frank team (including Jamie! He's just showing off now...) and quite a number of friends & family will take to the streets of Manchester on Sunday 18th May to walk, jog or run the Great Manchester Run 10k - it's probably not far off of us in total now. And this year, we do it to raise money for Mount Vernon Cancer Centre Charity (in Northwood, near London).

Every single day, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre are helping people through one of the most difficult journeys. Be it treatment, support or anything else that's needed, places like Mount Vernon help in ways that patients and their loved ones would be lost without. We've chosen Mount Vernon because they've helped - and are currently helping - some of us on that very journey, and they sit very close to our hearts.

Being that charity donations fund so much of what they do, Mount Vernon are no different from a lot of cancer centres or hospices. While there is NHS funding for what's absolutely necessary, the ability to provide above and beyond the the necessary comes from their own charity. Just hearing from colleagues who have been at (or currently are at) Mount Vernon, their treatment and support has been second to none - and we'll forever appreciate that.

Beyond the personal care that they provide for those visiting them, the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre Charity has allowed the centre to complete some of the following projects, taken directly from their website:

- A peaceful fern garden outside the chemo suite for patients, their families and staff

- Ground-breaking ScarWork programme led by Dr Beverley de Valois to improve the appearance of surgical scarring

- The Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre

- Dual scalp cooling systems

- A RapidArc licence to expand radiotherapy treatment for patients with lung, breast and rectum cancers

- New SPECT/CT scanner

- Refurbishment of the Brachytherapy procedure room

- Virtual sky art panels on the ceiling to help patients feel calm and relaxed during radiotherapy

And from discussions with the fundraising team, there are a number of other projects currently waiting to be funded - all to help patients and those close to them as best as they can.

Your donations will go a huge way in the lives of those living through cancer - including those who mean a lot to us at Frank.

From Cameron (me) and all at Frank, thank you.