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Where to start....

Well a few years ago, back in 2008, my life seemed to be going really well. I've had three great kids, turned 30 and got married to my better half.

We got married in Cyprus and nearly all my family were there. Everyone was enjoying the holiday apart from my Dad who seemed to be a little anxious and having mild panic attacks. We all put it down to him not coping with the wonderful weather we otherwise enjoyed.

Norman Mewes had always been a hard worker, family man and put everyone else's interests before his own. He has two brother's Thommy and John and they all had that last generational thing instilled in them through a mining heritage and a matriarchal strong mother.

Dad and my mother, Ann, did everything they could to bring up my brother's Steven, Kevin and me. They may not have had all of the money in the world, but I always known they're more important to me than any riches in the world.

I was unaware that after returning from being married abroad, my Dad had continued with the panic attacks and was complaining about an increase in headaches. This continued for over a year as some Doctors had initially put it down to depression.

He had continued to work at a local clothing distribution warehouse and in the summer of 2010 his manager had noticed his level of performance had greatly diminished.

My Dad was took into a meeting to discuss this further and sadly collapsed when returning to work. Nobody obviously knew the horrific news that was found to be the cause after being taken to hospital.

I first learned that he had been taken to the Sunderland Royal Hospital for initial assessment. He was quickly moved to the Newcastle General, which at the time was the specialist area for treating the condition he was diagnosed with.

Glioblastoma, and not just any old variety, stage 4. My Dad had gone from being one of the healthiest people I know, to someone with a terminal condition. I have a Scientific academic background and tend be pragmatic where other people can be more emotional and show their true feelings. I wanted to do anything I could to help, but realistically knew only the people specialising in this area could do anything to treat this terrible condition.

Inside part of me feels like it is dying too. However, I'm the oldest sibling and cousin in my extended family and I've tried to internalise my feelings to help reassure my family around me. It's devastating to see someone you love go through such a horrific ordeal dealing with the affects of this disorder, let alone the treatment to help reduce its affects.

While deep down inside I can't deny this tumour will ultimately take his life, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the dedicated NHS professionals who've helped us all along this difficult road. This inlcudes subsequant treatment at the RVI and Freeman hospitals.

The cost of treating all Cancer's is immense, some of the scans he's done cost over £1000 a pop. My aim is to repay some of the costs involved to help treat and hopefully save people going through something similar to my family.

I was staggered to find some of the high costs involved in this work, all the way from research to building new centres:

Between £300,000 and £500,000 could pay for a new chemotherapy suite in a hospital.

Between £2 million and £3.5 million could pay for a new oncology and outpatient unit in a hospital.

The charity in question is well loved in my local community as it has one of the most respected men as it's figurehead. Sir Bobby Robson was a great player, manager, but more than that a great family man who represented our region so well.

Half of my family are black and white, with the more cultured amoungst us being red and white. Irrelevant of our fiercely passionate tribal differences, he was one person who could unite everyone with the dignity he portrayed. He too came from a mining background in County Durham and I'm sure shared a similar philosophy in life to that of my own forefathers.

The foundation he set up while fighting cancer over a 17 year period is nothing but miraculous. My hero in football will always be Niall Quinn, but the more you know of Sir Bobby and his work, the more there is to admire.

I'm currently in training to build up some stamina for a small cycle ride. The company I work for has connections with Kielder and I've been able to secure my own event of cycling around the 27 mile track. I'm attempting to do 12 laps over three days and overall it's approximately 324 of your earth miles. Hopefully a little pain for me will ultimately be a large gain for the charity.

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