Hello, thanks for looking at my page! 

I, along with my partner Lena, have decided to partake in the 100km ultrachallenge from London to Brighton on the last weekend of May 2023. Anybody that knows me will understand that this would've been unthinkable a couple of years ago, but due to my mum being diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer we have decided to take on this huge challenge to raise money for the brilliant charity Cancer Research UK. 

In September 2020 as everybody was getting their first glimmers of hope that we could return to normality, Penny was undergoing the initial assessments to find out why she wasn't feeling good. This started with a colonoscopy - the results were not good, to say the least. The doctors discovered a 23cm long tumour in her colon. After this, CT scans showed even worse. Her liver was covered both sides in tumours meaning the colon cancer had already spread, and there was not much hope for recovery. She was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and given 18 months to live. 

So then chemotherapy began immediately, with no hope of beating the cancer, just to allow Penny the most of her life expectancy. Most people reading this will know someone who has been through chemotherapy, but if not, it is a brutal, draining treatment. On top of this the rest of my family were planning a big move from Surbiton to Kent - away from the area Penny has lived and worked her whole life. Despite the pain of chemotherapy and the stress of moving house, Penny kept her spirits high and had a positive attitude I think the rest of us were envious of. Even with two stays in hospital to be treated for sepsis. She took every hit with laughter, yes there were many tears along the way, but at the end of the day she just kept going. 

In January 2021, after a couple rounds of chemo there was suddenly some good news. The chemo was working and everything was shrinking! By May 2021, the colon tumour had shrunk so much, and her liver had cleared of enough tumours that they were able to go for the surgery to remove the colon tumour! The surgery was arranged and they miraculously removed the tumour and reattached her colon completely, the surgeons were amazed at how healthy the surrounding tissue was. This was literally better than we could have ever expected. She went back onto chemo but this time, there was hope and our expectations had been raised. We'd have as many days out as we could, creating brilliant memories at every opportunity. Penny even managed to beat her husband John at crazy golf for the first time in their marriage! (She still hasn't beat me though). In November 2021, Penny also got to witness the gorgeous wedding of her best friend DiDi, an aim she had been working towards since her diagnosis. It was an amazing day with so much happiness and laughter, a very bright point amongst many tough days. 

In February 2022, the words 'medical marvel' could actually be used to describe Penny. There was one tumour left on her liver, and everything else was clear. The doctors were just as shocked as us. After 16 rounds of chemo and the surgery, we really thought there was going to be an end in sight. Tentative thoughts for Penny about returning to work and what the future would hold were forming. Then in March 2022, she lived past the date given for her life expectancy. A benchmark we were never expecting to reach with this much happiness and hope. 

Cancer is ever fickle though, after 22 rounds of chemo, we then got the bad news that this chemo had stopped working and there had been regrowth of tumours on her liver. The colon was clear, but the liver tumours were now the source of contention. Penny went onto a new form of chemo, with even worse side effects. Months of sickness, nausea, horrific migraines and endless side effects you wouldn't wish on anyone. Between each round of chemotherapy Penny was struggling with getting her neutrophil and platelet counts up to a safe level, leaving her incredibly vulnerable to infections. This chemotherapy was taking a toll on every aspect of Penny's health and life. But she was still smiling and laughing whenever she could. 

It would be amiss not to mention the army Penny has had behind her for these two years. Each knock, they have been there to comfort her and provide laughter. They've shared every high and every low. I'm sure Penny would agree that their selflessness and outpouring of love has been a constant source of strength. 

This September marked 2 years since the original diagnosis. There has been more regrowth and Penny had to be switched from the second chemotherapy, as it wasn't helping in more ways than one. She is currently on tablet chemotherapy, which means less trips to the hospital but an endless amount of fatigue. The latest oncologist update in November has been tough (the understatement of the century really). There is something in her lungs, potentially not cancer, but it could be new tumours that have spread there. We found out there is a 2% chance of this chemotherapy working. If Penny comes off chemotherapy, she has been given 6 months to live. 

This is the reality of the situation we have right now. To lose this bright, hilarious, dynamic, crazy women that is so full of love and light to give to this world is unthinkable. She has been brave for so long and endured so much, something that hopefully most people reading this will never have to experience. But cancer does not discriminate, it really is the great equaliser between people. This is why we want to do something that pushes us, that will be painful and test ourselves the way Penny has for two years. The stakes are completely different but we want to show her that even if this is 1% as hard as her last two years have been, we are in it with her. 

So please donate what you can, we don't know what 2023 holds for us but we can try our best to make a big contribution to a charity working to prevent other families going through a situation like this. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and donating. If you would also like to donate to Lenas page then follow this link - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lena-lancastle-100km