Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I am raising money for the Lung Cancer Care Foundation by running the London Marathon on 21st April 2013.

Why am I fundraising?

My Mum died of lung cancer 5 years ago and I have also lost other close family members to lung cancer. I have a friend who has survived and a friend who is still fighting this terrible disease. I decided that I needed a challenge (after not training much since having my little girl over 3 years ago!) and at the same time, I wanted to support a charity that meant something to me personally.  I therefore went about securing a charity place in the London Marathon for the Lung Cancer Foundation and need to raise at least £1,800.

What I'm doing to raise sponsorship and donations?

As well as asking for sponsorship through my Just Giving pages, my Mother-in-law is hosting a coffee morning, my sister and her work colleagues at Oxfordshire County Council are filling smartie tubes with five and twenty pence pieces and I am also planning other events such as a cake and sweet sale and a wine tasting evening and will be packing shopping bags at our local supermarket.

How will your money help?

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world; it is the second most common cancer in men (after prostate) and the third most common in women (after breast and bowel).

More than 1 in 5 deaths in the UK (22%) are from lung cancer making it the most common cause of cancer death. Despite this, lung cancer receives only 5% of current cancer research funding. The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only charity in the UK dedicated to the defeat of lung cancer. It aims to give help and hope to those affected by lung cancer and focuses on saving lives and supporting people living with lung cancer. It funds research into prevention and early diagnosis and provides information and support to families affected  by this terrible disease. It hopes to boost funding funding over the next decade.

Your donation can help in so many ways, for example:

-£25 will help to provide support to lung cancer patients and their families through a free phone helpline.

-£30 will pay for a lung cancer nurse specialist to run a patient support group. They provide emotional support to patients, their families and carers.

-£60 will pay for a two day training course for one nurse. This trains them in delivering a wide variety of information regarding lung cancer. This includes aspects of living with lung cancer, such as diet, treatment information, complimentary therapies and coping with breathlessness.

-£250 could fund a lung cancer patient support grant.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

You can also now donate to my fundraising page using JustTextGiving. Just text TLCF50 followed by the amount you wish to give to 70070, e.g.To sponsor me £5, text TLCF50 £5 to 70070.

So please dig deep and donate now. Your support can help change and save lives.

http://www.roycastle.org/