Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Thursday 31st January 2008 was to be a life changing day for our whole family when my father was diagnosed with bowel cancer . He had been called to the hospital for a colonoscopy following a routine free home bowel cancer test provided for people over 60 by the NHS.  By the time it was diagnosed the cancer had already spread to his liver and peritoneum. Until now he had been in good health and had not had any symptoms that would have made you think this man’s got cancer. The next 16 months would be an emotional rollercoster for the whole family which would bring us all closer together as we battled to stay positive and look to the future (at no time did we know how long he had to live). Following the operation to remove the tumor, he started chemotherapy which was aborted when he got a blocked artery in his right leg.  After six further operations on his leg it was finally amputated in October 2008.  Despite all the pain he had suffered during the summer of 2008 he continued to remain positive and adjusted to life in a wheelchair with great courage and was determined to lead as normal a life as possible. Only two weeks after his amputation he was dressed in black tie attending a fund raising function at a local hotel.  Nothing phased him. Chemo recommenced in late November 2008 and he finally managed to complete this course but there was a small blip after the second session when he became diabetic (another thing to contend with – daily injections and finger pricking to test the sugar levels). Still he soldiered on never once complaining. In May 2009 the cancer finally took him and he died peacefully with his wife and children around his bed at the hospital. It was his bravery that inspired me to do something worthwhile & give something back in his memory & so I got in touch with the charity 'Bowel & Cancer Research UK' & I applied for one of their  places in the Virgin London Marathon 2011. I was both thrilled but also terribly nervous when I was allocated a guaranteed place in the event. I am an extremely novice hobby runner & see this as one of the hardest challenges I have ever had to face in my life, however everytime I put on my trainers I am reminded of the challenge that my dad bravely faced!!!  In October 2010 I organised a 'pink party' at my local pub in aid of the charity and was delighted to raise nearly £4,000. I am now commited to continuing fundraising for this charity in the hope that it can help others. If we are able to prevent just one more family from suffering the way we did then it would be so worth while. Bowel cancer affects some 35,000 people a year in the UK, and despite being one of the easiest cancers to cure, of these people only half will still be living up to 5 years after diagnosis. The main reason for this is that very often diagnosis is left too late. The other is that, in comparison with other cancers such as breast, bowel cancer has not received the attention in terms of translational research .  Having read my story, I now ask you to show your support for both me, my dad & for this wonderful charity & donate generously to Bowel & Cancer Research UK via this website. Any contributions will be so gratefully recieved & welcomed. Thankyou from the bottom of my heart, Jane Lloyd xxxxxxx

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