On Saturday 12^th July, I aim to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest, without leaving the comfort of North Yorkshire.

Roseberry Topping stands at a modest 1050 ft, compared to Everest at 29,029ft which means I will climb up and down Roseberry Topping 28 times to match climbing up and back down Everest.

Starting at 4am, hopefully a should just squeeze in the whole thing before pitch dark at 11pm

It would be fantastic if you could consider donating or even joining me for a leg of the climb.  All proceeds will be donated to the Gabrielle Alderson's Appeal.

Gaby is a 11 Year old who suffers from Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive childhood cancer which currently has no ‘standard treatment path’ meaning sufferers rely on clinical trials or treatment abroad.

Gabrielle was diagnosed with stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma in September 2013 at just 10 years old.

Her mother Vicki first noticed there was something wrong when Gaby’s energy levels seemed to dwindle during the summer holidays.

During a holiday with her father Gaby complained of slight back pain and concerned her mother took her to the local doctors.

On 2 September Gaby had blood tests and just two days later Vicki received a phone call asking her to take Gaby to hospital as her blood tests revealed something was amiss.

On the afternoon of 4 September Gabrielle’s parents were told that she had a mass in her abdomen which was likely to be neuroblastoma. Just one week later this was confirmed.

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive childhood cancer and the most common cancer diagnosed in children under 5 years old. In most cases it is only diagnosed when it has already progressed to a late ‘high risk’ stage. Even when children are tested clear of neuroblastoma after initial hospital treatment, a high proportion will relapse and in the case of relapse there is no standard treatment path to follow. When children cannot get onto a UK trial or are following foreign treatment paths, the Neuroblastoma Children’s Cancer Alliance UK (NCCA UK) supports them to access treatment abroad.

Gaby’s mother, Vicki explains: “It’s been a whirlwind of emotions since Gaby’s diagnosis. She’s been extremely courageous, taking everything in her stride. It’s really given us the strength to carry on and fight this disease.”

“Now Gaby is undergoing initial hospital treatment we need the public to help us raise funds for potentially lifesaving treatment should she need it. If Gaby were to relapse, which is common in children with high risk neuroblastoma, we want her to have access to  a wide range of clinical trials, including those not currently available in the UK.

I would therefore urge anyone reading this to donate to Gaby’s appeal and give my caring, funny, beautiful daughter the best chance of beating this disease.”

You can read more about Gabrielle’s fight against neuroblastoma on http://www.ncca-uk.org/.   

All donations are made to the Neuroblastoma children’s Cancer Alliance UK’s general fund, from which the trustees allocate funds for: treatment for the child concerned, as well as research, education, awareness and administration costs.