Nearly three years ago my friend Roly was diagnosed with bowel cancer.  He had just turned 31 years old and was setting out on his career as a junior doctor.  He had married Pippa in 2015 and they had just had their first child, their much-loved daughter Poppy.  

Roly has been battling the cancer since then, which has spread to other organs.  He has had several surgeries, chemo therapy, and ground breaking new therapy.   He has spent huge amounts of time in and out of hospital. Throughout this Roly has retained his incredible sense of humour, positivity, and his kindhearted and gentle nature. 

Roly has put everything into fighting the cancer, however, the cancer is still there.  

Roly, Pippa and Poppy have had to start to prepare for the worst outcome.  Part of this preparation has involved contacting St Raphael’s. 

St Raphael’s provides high quality end of life care which will help Roly keep his independence and maximise his quality of life, and the time he spends with his family, over the months ahead.  St Raph’s will also provide Pippa and Poppy with the support they need as they adjust to a future without Roly.  

The work St Raphael’s does really is invaluable; however, it relies heavily on public donations to keep delivering the expert care that it does.    

On 1 September I am running the Andover trail half marathon and I would like to ask for your support to raise funds for St Raph’s so that they can continue to offer their much valued services to people like my friend Roly.

More information on St Raph’s can be found here: https://www.straphaels.org.uk

If you’d also like to run in the half marathon and raise more funds for St Raph’s, you can sign up here: http://andovertrailrunners.co.uk/events/andover-trail-half-marathon-2019/