‘more than 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.’

This fact became a stark reality in April 2009 when my sister, Vicky Bolam (now Church) aged just 28 was diagnosed with cancer. Despite this terrible news, she re-planned her wedding in 2 weeks, in order to fit in with the treatment programme.  Vicky married Guy Church in May 2009 and just 2 days after the wedding she commenced an intense 7 week course of daily radiotherapy and weekly chemotherapy.

Following which, we were informed by the doctors that the treatment had been successful. The whole family were so happy about this news. Unfortunately, this happiness was short-lived. In September 2009, Vicky noticed a lump on her neck, which was diagnosed as cancerous. The cancer had spread to the lymph nodes.

Vicky is currently nearing the end of her 18 week treatment plan. A scan has recently shown a positive result, with the existing tumors reducing in size, although there is always a risk that the cancer will return.

Vicky throughout this ordeal remains incredibly positive, strong and focused on beating this disease.   Vicky continues to put others before herself and we are all very proud of her. 

This situation has made us appreciate and acknowledge all the valuable work carried out by the staff at Lincoln Oncology department.  They have made the whole experience a little more comfortable than it could ever be.  As a result, I decided that I would run the London Marathon on Sunday April 25^th for Cancer Research to raise awareness and carry out research to find a cure for this disease.   

In 2008, I ran the London Marathon on behalf of the charity C-R-Y: Cardiac Risk in the Young and successfully raised £2610 on behalf of a work colleague, Ian Morris who unfortunately lost his son to this condition earlier that year.  I completed the marathon in 3 hours and 59 minutes. This year I am upping the stakes in terms of running time and fundraising. My target is 3 hours 45 minutes and I hope to raise £3000 for Cancer Research.

I would be grateful if you could help me meet this target and donate to this charity. 

Cancer Research UK is the world's leading charity dedicated to cancer research. They fund the work of more than 4,500 scientists, doctors and nurses across the UK, all working together to beat cancer. They are a completely independent organisation solely dedicated to researching all aspects of cancer. The main objective is to improve the lives of all cancer patients with a view to enabling swift and accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and support. Each cancer patient is faced with a number of choices regarding both treatment and in their everyday lifestyle. CRUK aim to give people as much information and support as possible in order to help them to make the right choices, both for them and also for their families. 

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page, please help me to raise funds and awareness for this Cancer Research.  Please dig deep and sponsor me online.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Many thanks for your support.

Wayne Banks