Guys and girls, we need your support!  My good friend and colleague Steve Burne, a talented Architect in his forties, father of three boys and a man who has supported and raised thousands of pounds year on year for Ronald McDonald House, a children's charity in Manchester, has been fighting cancer. Steve is a well known personality and a leader in the Construction and Property industry sitting on the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.  He is the MD of a very successful architects practice in Manchester City Centre.  He is a fantastic all round top man and was in a great place until he was diagnosed a few months ago with a rare and aggressive form of cancer known as Synovial Sarcoma.

Sadly, the cancer has already spread to the lymph nodes which is not good news.  He has just undergone 5 weeks of radiotherapy to shrink the tumour. The photos below show what he has been through as they heated this plastic mould which clamped his head to a metal table while they treated him.  He is due for major surgery on the 24th August at The Christie hospital where a number of surgeons will be operating on him removing the tumour in his shoulder and his lymph nodes.  Everybody is hoping for a positive outcome in one of the world's leading hospitals.

The experts have said Steve may then be prescribed up to 18 weeks of a very powerful course of chemotherapy.  Steve was leading a good life with a wonderful family and friends and running a successful Architects business dedicating huge amounts of time to raising funds for others in need.  He has been struck down by the C word and I want to help him.

My friend Simon Lynch and I are currently training for an ironman on 30th September.  For those who don't know, it's 3800m sea swim, followed by a 180km cycle and then completed with a full marathon of 42.2km.  Steve, Simon and I would like The Christie Hospital and Ronald McDonald children's hospital to benefit from the year of training building up to the two and a half mile swim, then up to 6 hours in the saddle before the marathon run.  It has been a long and difficult challenge training for these distances!  It's tough and painful but nothing compared to what my friend Steve is fighting!

I would simply ask that you donate the price of a pint or a glass of Prosecco (no more than £5) and then send this to your friends, family and colleagues and ask them to do the same.  Cancer can strike any of us at any time anywhere and it is sad but we all know somebody who has been affected so if we can make this go viral and raise a few quid to help anybody suffering, then your support would be really appreciated.  Feel good and support this cause!  Together, we can all make a difference and raise thousands of pounds to support an amazing cause.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and 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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.