Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and considering a donation for the UHNM Charity.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), 1 in 2 people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime! Not surprisingly, many of us have either lost a loved one or know about someone dear to us who is living with cancer!! For me, cancer was unforgiving in case of my beloved mother and more recently a close Radiologist friend, while I am lucky in my wife’s case who is free from the disease after successful treatment for the cancer of the ovary in 2018. On all these occasions, I came across various doctors, nurses, other members of the staff and different charities working relentlessly not only fighting the enemy but also focusing on the overall experience of the entire family.

As a Radiologist at the UHNM over last several years, I have dealt with many cancer patients while doing diagnostic or therapeutic procedures for them and it’s during this period I realised the crucial role played by the UHNM Charity which spends millions of pounds in additional funding for the UHNM Trust to enhance patient experience and comfort for cancer patients. In recent years, the charity has contributed to several projects towards this goal, listed below.

• £4 million development programme to improve facilities for cancer patients at University Hospitals of North Midlands which includes a new entrance, a pharmacy, a multipurpose group room, two private rooms, an information centre, a refreshment area and a new waiting area for patients.

• £2.0 million towards installation of a new state-of-the-art surgical robot at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), Improving Cancer Care at UHNM

• Funding a cone beam CT scanner for patients attending the Maxillofacial Department at Royal Stoke University Hospital benefiting trauma and cancer patients

• £25,000 healthcare projects grants teaming up with the North Staffordshire Medical Institute (NSMI) towards potentially life-saving research.

• Various other projects to improve hospital experience for cancer patients

In second half of February, I plan to hike Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, is the highest mountain in Africa with an elevation of 19,341 feet (5,895 meters). It is the largest free-standing mountain in the world and is one of the seven summits. In preparation of the event, I have done a 10 K run and have been regularly hiking at Peak District, Snowdon and Lake District. The thought of reaching the summit fills me with excitement and thrill; however, there is also some anxiety about Acute Mountain Sickness and harsh arctic conditions at such high altitudes!

The money raised by me will go directly to the UHNM Charity towards improving the care and experience of cancer patients at the Trust which relies on the charity to pay for equipment, patient comforts, education and research which would not otherwise be provided by the NHS. By supporting UHNM Charity you will be part of something special.

I plan to put regular updates on this page about the progress towards my goal.