As you may know, one of my best friends, James Phythian was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma earlier this year. As a show of friendship and support, a small group of friends are planning to do a sponsored head shave on Sunday 24th September.

I met James nearly 10 years ago in college and in the subsequent years he has become a very close friend and someone I can always rely on. James is one of the kindest people I know and seeing him go through the diagnosis and treatment has been really hard - I can't begin to imagine how he (or his family) has coped. However, his outlook since the diagnosis has been amazing, he has stayed strong from day one and has taken any setbacks in his stride.

As everyone knows, one of the more difficult side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss and this is why we have decided to support him. This will not be easy for any of us!

The money raised will contribute towards everyday living costs to help him through the rest of his treatment. During the treatment phases of chemotherapy, James has been unable to work – not by choice, and this has made a difficult time much more problematic. I would appreciate any donation possible towards the shave!