Adam Flood
A 320+ mile Cycle, Coast 2 Coast, in 4 days, to Delete Blood Cancer
Fundraising for DKMS
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Background:
Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. For many of those affected, a blood stem cell donation from a matching donor represents their best, and sometimes only, chance of surviving. Despite being treatable and potentially curable, blood cancer today remains the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the UK, and still claims the lives of more children in the UK than any other disease. I saw an appeal last year, for an 18 month old little girl, called Margot. My other half was pregnant with our first child at the time, and for some reason it really struck a chord. Whether it was because she was so young, or because it could happen to my child when she arrived, or I thought of a close friends imminent arrival – I’m unsure. The fact is that these illnesses aren’t picky about age or gender.
Finding a tissue match is extremely rare. With more than 8,500 known tissue characteristics that can occur in millions of combinations, finding a match is a bit like winning the national lottery. Since the UK launch in February 2013, Delete
Blood Cancer UK has received requests from over 72,000 people in the UK who want to register to be potential lifesavers. The cost of registering one potential donor is £40, which equates to £2 million to register every 50,000 new people. They don’t charge you to register, and donating some, none, or all of the processing costs is completely optional.
Registering is staggeringly easy. No going to the Doctors, no needles, no effort at all. All it takes to know if you’re someone’s match - is a quick swab inside your cheeks. You can register online for a DIY swab kit and take your cheek sample at home and then post your swab sticks back in the freepost envelope provided. Something so simple that can have such a massive effect on someone’s life is still something I struggle to emphasise to people. The kit contains two swabs, which should be gently rubbed on the inside of each cheek for 30 seconds on each side, and held to dry for a few minutes. These should then be placed in the swab envelope provided and sent back to DBCUK centre in the pre-paid envelope. They will then send them to their laboratory, who will determine your tissue type, and your details will be placed anonymously onto the register of potential donors with your unique donor number. A few weeks later you will then receive a membership card with that number on.
If you are already listed with the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR), the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry (WBMDR), or with Anthony Nolan, you should not re-register. We and each of these organisations register donors to one single UK registry.
Now, a fat lad on a bike is one thing. A fat lad on a bike cycling more than 300 miles over 4 days will be something to see. The route I’m planning to do in April 2015 is from the Royal Pier at Aberystwyth, to the Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth. Over 300 miles, nearly 10,000ft of climbing (mainly the Welsh Mountains), cutting from West to East along Middle England.