Steve Beadle
Fundraising for Bowel Research UK in memory of Frances Beadle
Fundraising for Bowel Research UK
Story
Hello :)
Thank you for taking the time to visit and read a bit about why I'm running the London Marathon and raising money for Bowel Research UK.
As most who read this will know, in March 2023 we lost mum to bowel cancer at the age of 71. Mum had been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in June 2022 - by the time it was discovered, the illness had already grown and spread to her liver. Chemotherapy was undertaken to try to slow down the spread and reduce the size of the cancer, but it was, unfortunately, too late. After a very challenging few months of treatment we lost mum on the 7th March.
The point of doing this is awareness. We think that if mum had been more aware of her symptoms and what they meant, she might have discovered her cancer earlier, and I might not be writing this now. It's understandable - diarrhoea, constipation, bloating and tiredness are all normal things we all experience; even the appearance of blood might be written off as a result of something normal like haemorrhoids.
Stepping back from the personal side to this, there has been some really important and interesting breakthroughs in the world of gut health - links between gut health and other parts of the body, such as the brain, are shining a light on the importance of paying attention to your digestion, and the type of food we eat. Even if it's not an area of interest, we've probably all heard words like probiotics, prebiotics, good bacteria etc, and be aware of the growing number of food intolerances being identified. I do believe we could all live potentially more comfortably and with more energy if we learnt a bit more about the state of our guts!
That's why I've chosen to raise money for Bowel Research UK. From their website:
Bowel Research UK is funding life-changing research into bowel cancer and other bowel diseases.Every year over 16,000 people die from bowel cancer in the UK and over a million suffer from bowel disease. By researching cutting edge treatments and investing in the best science, we’re saving and improving people’s lives. Bowel Research UK was founded in 2020 following a merger between two well-respected charities: Bowel & Cancer Research and Bowel Disease Research Foundation (BDRF). We’re the UK’s leading specialist bowel cancer and bowel disease research charity and our research is saving and improving lives.
https://www.bowelresearchuk.org/
I'll be posting updates on Instagram (stevebeadle1) as well as some info about all things guts and bowels!
If you've made it this far - thank you! :) I'm hoping to raise £2500 by 21st April, if you can spare a bit it would be so appreciated, and would be going to a worthwhile cause. I'm also having a think about some potential fundraising ideas, so watch this space!