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So here I am again - pretty much hate to run, can't run and only get worse the more I try. Also didn't want to ever have to ask people for money again, so this time it had to be for something special. 

About this time last year I chose to attend a Mesothelioma support group run by the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Trust as an adjunct to a med school rotation. When I pulled into that golf club car park little did I know I would have one of the most moving mornings of my life and meet genuinely some of life's best people. I immediately pledged to run for them in 2018, however a series of life events (a big fat wedding) got in the way, so this year to make up for it I'm tripling (originally doubling, but got carried away) up on the events. This basically means that from this evening, I am in constant half marathon training programmes for the next 7.5 months, including during 4 weeks in Cape Verde in 30 degree heat and nowhere to run but the beach. Joy.

I didn't know much about Mesothelioma before I attended the group session, but essentially it is a horrifically aggressive form of lung cancer, found mainly in middle to older age. Devastatingly, this cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos in much earlier years of life, decades before anyone even knew it was bad or even there. As it stands, there is no curative treatment available. So these are people who are suffering immensely and dying of what we know now to be a preventable disease for having simply gone to work every day to provide for their families. It is so so sad and especially prevalent and relevant to those in the North East due to the high levels of use in the old ship yards and other industrial practise and because of the amount of years it usually takes to develop, many new cases are now coming through to ruin more lives.

The Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Trust does amazing work raising awareness of mesothelioma, researching treatments and management for best supportive care. Possibly most importantly, they also provide tremendous support those with Mesothelioma and their families, as was the case in the meeting I attended. At such meetings, a specialise nurse is present, solicitors and other healthcare professionals all there to support every need and to answer any questions. It also provides an opportunity for patients and their family's to get out and talk to other people in a similar situation. One man I met had been bedridden for nearly 5 weeks - the meeting that day was the only thing he had managed the physical and mental strength to get out of bed for in that long, and he assured me (between tears) that he was so glad that he did. That is the difference this charity makes.

Everyone I met there was abundantly clear that such meetings had enhanced their lives significantly since diagnosis and I just so want to make sure the charity can continue to carry out it's life-changing work. Although currently the outcome for patients is still sadly the same, which hopefully the charity's research may one day change, for now it is all about the support during such a terrible time and helping people live the best quality of life possible.

Please and thank you so much for your support and also sorry in advance for all the constant posts and nagging because I really, really do feel strongly about this cause and want to do it justice - hope I have somewhat convinced you guys to feel the same! xxx

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