I am raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust because my friend and colleague, Simon Reeve, recently found out his daughter had been diagnosed with Leukaemia – please read on for more information.

Simon's Story

My name is Simon Reeve and my daughter has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. I want to raise money for the charity that have been helping her, Teenage Cancer Trust at UCH (University College Hospital). I am going to raise the money by taking part in the BT Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, which involves walking almost 25 miles, with 7 BT colleagues :- Lewis Martin, Steve Chandler, Mark Howard, Colin Miles, Graham Holbrook, Adnan Pasha and John Tomlinson.

The walk will encompass three of the highest peaks in Yorkshire, and we will be walking non-stop for around 11 hours.

 About Nicole

 Nicole is aspiring to become a Journalist.  She is studying at St. Martins Sixth from and is hoping to get a offer of a place at Cardiff University to study English Language.  She has written a children’s Spanish/English book and coaches’ tennis for all age groups. As Nicole’s brother I know that she won’t give up on her dream and suffering from cancer is just an obstacle in her path.  I know she is strong and will get through this horrible time.

Why do I want to raise money for TCT (Teenage Cancer Trust?)

I want to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust because my daughter (Nicole) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia. She was diagnosed on Tuesday 24 January 2012, she has only been in UCH (University College Hospital) for a little while but I was amazed about how nice and kind the nurses were.  The ward my daughter was admitted to was the Teenage Cancer Trust ward. The ward has a day room which includes; Books, DVD’s, Xbox, Play stations, Piano, TV, WII, Drums, Laptops and a nice clean kitchen. I hope that the money we raise can help buy more lovely equipment for the charity that is saving my daughter’s life.

What is Teenage Cancer Trust

Teenage Cancer Trust aims to ensure that every young person with cancer and their family receive the best possible care and professional support throughout their cancer journey. Teenage Cancer Trust doesn’t believe that teenagers should have to stop being teenagers, just because they have cancer. So Teenage Cancer Trust fund and build specialist units for young people in NHS hospitals. Teenage Cancer Trust units bring teenagers with cancer together with loads of new friends of their own age so they can support each other. Alongside all of this is a medical team of teenage cancer specialists who pool knowledge to create a body of expertise that’s second to none. They’re backed up by Nurse Consultants who provide clinical care, develop research, deliver professional education and ensure that standards remain as high as possible. Teenage Cancer Trust units aren’t like ordinary cancer wards. Everything about them has been designed to give teenagers the very best chance of a positive outcome. Teenage Cancer Trust want every young person with cancer in this country to have that chance.  

My daughter’s illness

Nicole has been admitted to the Teenage Cancer Unit at University College Hospital (UCH) in London and has been diagnosed with having Acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is a type of cancer. Nicole has begun UKALL 2003 chemotherapy, which will last for approximately two years, the first seven months of which are very intensive. When Nicole is on chemotherapy, she is at high risk of infection, she will often be anaemic meaning that she will be increasingly tired and may become breathless on exertion and with a low platelet count she may have a increased risk of bleeding. This means that on top of the planned admissions to day-care for chemotherapy there will be many unplanned admissions to hospital to treat infections or administer blood transfusions etc.

So what is Acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia?

Acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia is a form of cancer that affects the lymphocytes and lymphocyte-producing cells in the bone marrow. Lymphocytes are white blood cells that produce antibodies and are vital parts of the body’s immune system. They can be classified into subgroups according to their function. The two main groups are B cells and T cells. In ALL there is an accumulation of immature lymphocyte-forming cells called blast cells in the bone marrow. Eventually, the production of normal blood cells is affected by this and there is a reduction in the numbers of red cells, white cells and platelets in the blood.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.