In two weeks time on 3 October 2021, I am running the London Marathon having been lucky enough to secure a place through my running club, Wetherby Runners. Having witnessed from afar the awful struggle of a close friend over the last 2 years, I have committed to putting myself through some pain and trying to run the marathon in the slightly optimistic time of under 3 hours!

I will be running in support of my close friend from law school, Adam Gray who was diagnosed with incurable Stage IV, Grade III Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancer in 2019 and also in support of Emma, the amazing 11 year old daughter of a fellow Wetherby Runner who was diagnosed with bone cancer in August 2020.

****PLEASE READ****

THE FUND RAISING PAGES FOR BOTH CHARITIES ARE LINKED TO THIS PAGE SO PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE ROYAL FREE CHARITY IN SUPPORT OF ADAM'S FIGHT THEN THAT IS THE SECOND LINK. THE FIRST LINK WHICH APPEARS IS FOR THE BONE CANCER RESEARCH TRUST.

Both Adam and Emma have undergone a brutal treatment regime of chemotherapy, radiotherapy & finally life changing surgery.

Emma has to learn to walk again & adapt her life and is now cancer free and Adam's fight goes on.

Adam's story...

Life is so fragile.

One moment you can be fit, healthy, active and alive and have one of the best 6 packs around. The next moment you can be diagnosed with Stage IV, Grade III Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancer. A week later you can be told you have 6-12 months to live.

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it. This is exactly what happened to Adam Gray when he was 32 . His wife Crissy was then seven months pregnant with their first child.

For anyone who has come across Adam they would struggle to say a bad word about him, and for those who know him well, the positivity he shows is incomparable. He is hard working, humble, and honest. He is one of life's good guys and someone I have been privileged to call a very close friend for the last 10 years.

Adam has survived many rounds of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and a massive operation to remove cancerous parts of his liver and pancreas. Already Adam has defied the odds and all doctors’ predictions. I want to help Adam fight on for himself and the relationship he has with his wife and his young daughter.

Pancreatic Cancers are known as ‘the silent killer’ due to their lack of observable symptoms making them incredibly hard to identify during the early stages of growth, when the widest variety and most effective treatments are available. Adam’s Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours (P-Nets) are exactly that - silent killers

The Royal Free Charity Fund which has an active research programme dedicated to furthering the understanding of what causes neuroendocrine cancer, how it grows, how it can be detected earlier and the development of new therapies. There funding has been massively hit by COVID-19.

Alternative treatments are a clear differentiator in sustaining Adam’s life for as long as we can, giving him the best chance at seeing his daughter Amelie’s birthdays for years to come. Adam will never give up, and with the continuous development of future treatments he has a sense of positivity that defies belief.

Thanks for taking the time to read my page and any support is greatly appreciated to both The Royal Free Charity and The Bone Cancer Research Trust.