Hello, and thanks for visiting our fundraising page.
Chris and I are going to be cycling from London to Paris in September 2010 to raise money for the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). The ride is approximately 300 miles and will take 4 days, so should be a good test of our cycling legs.
CHECT isn't a well known charity but it is particularly close to home - my son Isaac was diagnosed with
Retinoblastoma (Rb) at Christmas 2009 and is recovering from a
successful
operation - CHECT is the
only charity which serves the retinoblastoma community in the UK.
Rb
is a rare but fast growing eye cancer which develops in children
under five. It is treated by a number of different therapies, however in most cases the
affected eye or eyes are removed, resulting in varying degrees of
visual impairment.
So, although we detected the tumour on his retina relatively early, in January we travelled to Birmingham where Isaac underwent surgery to remove his right eye. Birmingham Children's Hospital have a small specialist team that solely look after children diagnosed with Rb, and their treatment and care of Isaac has been incredible. So far he is coping remarkably well with monocular vision, and we are considering ourselves fortunate that in his particular case, chemotherapy was not considered necessary. We will be going back to Birmingham for check-ups every 2 months or so for the next few years, both to see how Isaac is progressing and also crucially to check there is no sign of this disease recurring in his left eye.
On average one child a week in the UK is diagnosed with retinoblastoma and over 500 children per year attend specialist clinics. Retinoblastoma can be heritable or occur sporadically. Of the 45% of children with the heritable form, the majority (85%) will be affected in both eyes. These children are also at a higher risk of developing second primary cancers later in life.
To find our more about Retinoblastoma please visit the CHECT website
So, the journey to achieving our target funds starts now, and all sponsorships are very gratefully received.
Many thanks for your support
James and Chris
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