Hi all,

It’s really good of you to visit my site, and hopefully read my story. My name is John Anderson and despite being Type 1 Diabetic for forty-three years I have always been very fit and outgoing. I am a 5^th Dan Black Belt in Karate, have played competitive golf for many years and love the great outdoors. I lost my Mother and both my brothers to cancer but never really considered that it could affect me directly, after all I was fit, relatively young, and had a fairly healthy lifestyle.

However in July 2008 I suddenly lost a lot of blood, but otherwise felt fine, seven weeks later I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. At first, prognosis looked very bad but very quickly I had a successful operation to remove the tumour and was then told I would require chemotherapy.

It is very difficult to describe the confusion and worry that suddenly caught up with me at this time, but a friend told me about the Maggies Centre in Dundee. I went and spoke to the staff and volunteers and they helped me greatly with my thoughts and worries. Sometimes you need to speak to someone who is not family or a close friend. I found everyone at Maggies so patient, well informed and unbelievably kind.

The chemotherapy was successful, so far, but I do have damage to my spine and this means I have difficulty walking very far, about two hundred yards is my limit before needing a rest. However last year, along with thirty-eight other family and friends I climbed Schiehallion (over 3,500 feet) and raised nearly £3,000 which was split between Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Maggies Centre.

I have decided to climb the Cairngorm this time (over 4,000 feet) in one hundred to two hundred yard chunks and aim to raise at least £5,000 for the Maggies Centre. I hope you will dig deep and sponsor me on my endeavour, and help the Maggies Centre continue the absolutely brilliant work they do. As for as my progress, I still enjoy my golf (I take a buggy), I still enjoy the wildlife, and even rain feels really good these days. Thank you in advance for your donation.  

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast amd 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 effecient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now!

Thank you in advance for your kind donation and generous support.

For further details about Maggie's. please visit: http://www.maggiescentres.org/maggies/maggiescentres/home/home.html

Regards

John