Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I've been living with a cancer diagnosis for many years now but over the last four years I've needed repeated, brutal chemotherapies to prolong my life. Lockdown started very early for me with an immune system so depleted by treatments, that I had sepsis on two occasions and mixing in public was rare and risky. Unfortunately none of the treatments provided lasting remission. One year ago, whilst on a trial treatment,  Lymphoma was most definitely gaining the upper hand. I was in a poor state of health and a mere shadow of my former self. My future appeared both brief and bleak. 

It was at this very low point that The Christie appeared on my horizon, and I was fortunately accepted on a new trial immunotherapy treatment. My experience at previous hospitals was good, but right from my first visit to Christie's I was struck by the difference. Care was so obviously patient centred and not merely mechanical and faceless. The Christie has a deserved international reputation as a centre for cancer expertise and treatment, but it's so much more than that. The hospital is warm and welcoming, not a description usually associated with a hospital, and most of that warmth is radiated by its staff from most senior to most junior.

I'm pleased to say that my trial treatment has been successful and I'm currently in remission and I attribute no small part of my recovery to the  caring ethos of The Christie. I'm feeling so much more positive now and looking forward to a future filled with all the normal events that an active grandfather should pursue. I would love all other cancer patients to have the opportunity to experience the first class cancer care so expertly delivered by The Christie.That is why I shall attempt to raise money for The Christie Charity by walking El Camino de Santiago del Compostela in Northern Spain. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Camino, I will be following in the footsteps of millions of pilgrims  who have made the journey since medieval times, to visit the tomb of Saint James the apostle, seeking spiritual enlightenment and renewal. In life and on the walk, "Bueno Camino peregrino".

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