Earlier this year a dear friend lost her beautiful son to a rare form of cancer. As a mum myself, it was heartbreaking and one of the few times I have felt powerless to help someone I care about.

When Mel and her family asked for volunteers to run the Cardiff half marathon and raise money in his memory - I felt compelled to join #TeamDrew (and I am NO runner!). If raising some much needed funds for research can put even the smallest smile on Mel and her families faces - it will be worth every early start and painful mile!

Here is their story....

In November 2016 3 year old Drew was diagnosed with a rare type of
cancer that occurs in the skull base and spine. He was admitted to Oncology at Birmingham children's hospital where he began intensive chemotherapy and surgery. Drew's journey was fraught with complications from the outset. This was primarily due to the rareness and lack of documented cases. Sadly on the morning of February 24th 2017 Drew took his last breath at home with his parents Mel and John. His battle was brief and brutal but bravely fought for one so young.

Since losing Drew Mel and John have tried to find positivity in all the heartache. The local and wider community raised a substantial amount of money during Drew's fight. They both felt that this needed to be spent on improving the chances of survival for other children with diagnosis.

Currently, they are in the process of setting up a charitable trust in Drew's name. This charity will focus on raising money to fund paediatric chordoma research and support young children around the world whose lives have been devastated by this cancer.

As their first event in Drew's memory Mel and John have assembled a team of 50+ runners to take part in Cardiff Half Marathon on 1st October 2017.

They hope this will be the first of many events in Drew's memory with the aim to raise as much money as possible and improve the survival chances of paediatric chordoma worldwide.

Thankyou x