In February my wife Vicky was diagnosed with stage 4 B-cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. She had just been through a major operation on her thoracic spine to try & solve a 5 year painful back problem but a bone biopsy during this operation actually discovered the true source of the pain. It was not mechanical after all but a Lymphoma centered in her thoracic spine, rare given Lymphoma is predominantly a blood cancer. It was quite a shock to say the least. She is now on a 6 month course of chemotherapy to put it in remission, which is not proving to be a bundle of laughs. Unfortunately it is not curable but chemo should put her in remission for up to 10 years & then we'll see what treatment is available. Vicky is a phenomenally tough girl & is dealing with it all a lot better than the rest of us. If only the 6 different consultants she has seen for her back over the last 6 years had diagnosed this rare Lymphoma earlier we could have dealt with it a long time ago.

Which is why i'm raising money for Lymphoma research. I have entered the Jubilee 10km swim from Maidenhead to Windsor on Sunday June 9th so that others may not have to wait so long for a correct diagnosis. 

Lymphoma is the 5th most common cancer in the UK. The Lymphoma Research Trust funds research into the treatment of Lymphoma & makes grants to medical researchers who organise clinical trials. It does not receive any Government funding & relies entirely on voluntary donations. So please support me if you can.

Having recently had shoulder surgery myself I’ll probably be swimming half the 10km with one arm just to make an already very long swim more of a challenge. I hope to complete it in 3-3.5 hours nonetheless.

If you can spare any cash after all the other demands for sponsorship you get then please support my swim for Vicky & The Lymphoma Research Trust and why not have a lovely Sunday morning stroll along the river on the 9th June and cheer me along.

Thank you so very much

Mark & Vicky x