10 years ago, my life almost fell apart. "Will - you have cancer. It's called salivary ductal adenocarcinoma". C-A-N-C-E-R wtf. "It's highly aggressive, rare, malignant, and you're going to die quite soon unless we act now". I was 29, riding high on life, and was (supposedly) so healthy I didn't even have a doctor.

2 years of hardcore treatment (The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust), and numerous operations later (thank you for putting my face back together Luke Cascarini - WARNING: gruesome photo in comments), I was saved by science (+ a lifetime's worth of luck). 5 years of clear scans and a mortal enemy was defeated.

It feels almost imposterish to be one of the lucky survivors. Almost all the people I met being treated back then with me have now gone. So this weekend I'm running The Royal Parks half marathon in their memory, and for all the brave ones currently undergoing treatment The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre. We ensure our nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world.

From funding state-of-the-art equipment and groundbreaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, we will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.