Shomelanoma 50km Chiltern Challenge
Paul Clark is raising money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Story
I am taking on the Chiltern 50k challenge to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Hospital where my dear friend Shiona is being treated for stage 4 melanoma. Thank you so much for your support.
Please read Shiona’s story below…
I am currently treated for stage 4 melanoma under the care of the incredible team at the Royal Marsden Hospital. It is safe to say the care I receive is outstanding and continues to keep me alive. I am forever grateful to my Oncologist Prof James Larkin and his outstanding team.
This year due to the impact of Covid and the cancellation of many fundraising activities mean that challenges like the Giants Causeway, which itself was postponed twice last year are more important than ever to raise funds to support the charity.
Following my stage 4 diagnosis in March 2017, I was initially treated with pioneering immunotherapy treatment (IPI/Nivo) but following progression in Dec 2017 I have been taking targeted treatment (debrafenib and trametinib) which is keeping my melanoma under control. Once melanoma has spread internally in the body there is currently no known cure. You can read my full story on my blog www.shomelanoma.com which I write to raise awareness of this awful disease plus charting living with melanoma.
I have generally been well enough with the exception of periods of side effects and the mental challenge of living with cancer to be able to live life to the full and channel my energies into fundraising to support on-going research programmes at the Royal Marsden. It's my way of giving something back whilst keeping fit and active doing challenges with family and friends that I love. The melanoma research team at the Royal Marsden are at the forefront of developing new pioneering life saving treatments that are helping people like me live for longer with their loved ones. Melanoma has been one of the success stories in recent years in developing new treatments and these are now being tested for other cancers. Whilst significant progress has been made more needs to be done as many patients are still losing their lives to this awful disease.