My father died of Bowel Cancer over 11 years ago aged just 56years of age. A mere 2 years into retirement, his golf addiction only really taking hold, we could only sit and watch over a period of six months as the cancer took hold and slowly got the better of him. As a consequence, I am twice as likely to get colon cancer as a person with no family history of the disease.

Bowel Cancer is a disease that affects 1 in 18 adults in the UK, and the Rep. of Ireland has the 3rd highest annual incidence of the disease per head of population in the EU. It usually grows very slowly over a period of up to 10 years, before it starts to spread and affect other parts of the body; that is it's only redeeming feature - you at least get some warning signs, so don't ignore them. 

Lack of physical exercise has been identified as the single most important risk factor for developing bowel cancer. The more active you are, the more you cut your risk of bowel (and for that matter) other cancers. Until recently, I hadn't run the length of myself. A heart defect as a child offered me the perfect excuse in that department and then in the summer of 2010 I realised that my childhood days had passed me! I started running gradually and now, it's almost an addiction. Every runners ultimate goal is to run a marathon and as I watched the highlights from this year's London Marathon and saw the people that were competing I thought "I can do that"! So, a little behind in the training to compete in this years Belfast City Marathon, I've opted for Dublin instead, a city that I'm all too familiar with from my years working and living there. Little did I think, as I weaved between the bars of...well, a lot of the streets of the city, about 10 years ago, that I'd be back to run 26.2 miles of them in 2011!!

Your gift/donation will help the charity provide the support and information that somebody concerned about bowel cancer, recently diagnosed or living with the disease needs. It will help save lives by helping them raise awareness of symptoms and the importance of early diagnosis.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

In the words of Rod Tidwell in 'Jerry Maguire' - "SHOW ME THE MONEY".

Thanks a million - dig deep please - even a few £pounds/$dollars/€uro's will help greatly and your donation will guarantee that I won't have to publicly shame you into doing so at a later date!

Thanks.

Tom