Rachel Bareham
Rachel's Chelmsford Half Marathon page
Fundraising for Lymphoma Out Loud
Story
Why Am I Running Colchester Half Marathon ?
I am Running with my Sister Emma Longland-Smith to celebrate reaching 5 years Cancer free from lymphoma, and to help raise money for Lymphoma out loud to raise awareness of the sign's of this cancer.
My Story
I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma 5 years ago on the 6th Feb 2015.
I was told I had a month to live if I did not start treatment right away, I was stage 4 which means I had cancer in all Lymph nodes in my body plus starting to eat away at my bones. (see images the scan image all black blobs was cancer)
I had to have 6 months of very strong Chemotherapy, I lost all my hair and had to put up with many different side effects through treatment but tried to make humor were I could through a challenging time.
Why Donate ?
Every 27 minutes another person is diagnosed with Lymphoma, making it the most common blood cancer and the most common cancer in
young people and it is on the increase. Despite this, awareness of it and its symptoms is shockingly low. If I had know of the signs and symptoms I would of gone to a doctor sooner and got treatment quicker and before it had gone to far.
This is why this year I have chosen to support and help Lymphoma Out Loud who's mission is to; educate young adults on the signs and symptoms of lymphoma, empower them to be body aware, and give them the confidence to head to the GP if they notice anything that doesn't feel right and get the treatment sooner then I did.
Please donate if you can every £ can help spread awareness of this horrible cancer, I was lucky I beat it and got a 2nd chance at life but some young adults don't !