Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
When I joined this challenge I said I was lucky no-one in my family had been diagnosed with Bowel Cancer. Little did I know that was about to change! In my fundraising so far I've also come across several people who've had a loved one pass away from it - often at a relatively young age.
It's the second most common type of cancer in the UK and very curable if caught early - but many people are unaware of the symptoms.
And all of a sudden it's become more personal. I mentioned this charity to my cousins recently and found out their father (my uncle) had passed away from it in his 40s. He ignored the symptoms and the possibility of participating in a clinical trial and unfortunately left behind 3 young children. I had no idea - a classic example of how even among family we don't really talk about such things.
Fortunately the profile of the disease is rising, partly through organisations such as Beating Bowel Cancer and also because of some high-profile people who were diagnosed with it, such as Ronald Regan, Sharon Osbourne, Pope John Paul II, Bobby Moore (1966 World Cup captain) and Charles Schulz (Snoopy creator) - who died just 60 days after diagnosis.
My colleague's wife works for the Beating Bowel Cancer charity and, after a long time procrastinating about getting involved with a charity, I've really enjoyed participating with these guys.
My target fundraising is £1200, which seems rather daunting at the start! It's as challenging as the training we're doing ahead of our 300 mile bike ride from London to Paris to raise awareness of Bowel Cancer.
So, after checking out this page (and hopefully making a donation), please spend a few minutes on Wikipedia learning more about what the symptoms are and how you can reduce your chances of developing Bowel Cancer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowel_cancer
Many thanks for stopping by and thanks to all of you who are able to donate.
