The Challenge:

Me and my brother Ben are doing the three peak challenge along with our sister in law Emma and her sister Rachael. We hope to climb the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales on the 26th of May in 24 Hours! 

Our chosen charity is GIST support UK as our mum was diagnosed with stage four of this rare form of cancer 16 years ago, but has never let her condition get the better of her. Emma and Rachael will be climbing to fundraise for Sarcoma UK and their fundraising page details are below, please take the time to read through their story too. 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emma-turner71

What is GIST?

GISTs are malignant tumours of soft tissues in the gastro-intestinal tract (the stomach and intestines). They are a kind of sarcoma, which is a very rare type of cancer. Around about 2% of tumours in the gastrointestinal area are GISTs. It has only been possible to diagnose GISTs unambiguously since 2000, and because of their rarity many GPs will never see a case in the whole of their career.

Who are GIST support UK?

GIST support UK aims to support patients, find further treatments and ultimately find a cure!  They are a volunteer run charity, with most of their trustees being either patients or a close relative of a patient and so the money raised will go directly to them continuing their amazing work!

Our mums story: 

Following her diagnosis, she started a drugs trial in 2005 at the Royal Marsden hospital in London but had been dealing with illness for three years previous to this without diagnosis. In June 2005 she had the tumour removed which was said to weigh the equivalent to a bag of sugar! After the successful drugs trial she continued to take the medication to try and prevent further growth for two years, following this and continuous clear CT scans she was taken off the medication. However, in 2013 she went to her last appointment before she was going to be signed off when they found more tumours and so she was reintroduced to the previous medication. 

Since 2013 she has had to have a CT scan every three months which monitors the tumours growth. The on-going results have been positive and with the help of The Royal Marsden hospital and GIST UK we hope that one day a cure will be found. 

Before, during and after our mums struggles with this rare form of cancer, she has always put other peoples needs before her own, whether it's through her work as a carer for the elderly, many suffering with dementia, or the help and support she offers our family. She has always been our rock even when she hasn't been at her strongest and so us completing this challenge is our way of giving something back. 

UPDATE: Recently mum has become immune to the drugs she was taking causing her tumour to grow. She is now starting a new drugs trial in the hope this will stop any further growth and potentially shrink the tumour. This shows what progress is being made to help people like my mum be survivors! 

Thank you for taking the time to read through our page, any donation is greatly appreciated!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.