As you may know last year my mum (Avril) sadly passed away after a year long battle against oesophageal cancer. Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in the UK and the 5 year survival rate is currently only 15%. In comparison, more well-known cancers such as breast cancer have 5 year survival rates of around 87%. If oesophageal cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the survival rate can be 90%. Unfortunately public awareness of the symptoms is low and most patients do not get diagnosed until the cancer is at a progressed and incurable stage.

In November I’m going to be putting a tick on my bucket list and running the New York marathon. The race is the same week as the 1 year anniversary of my mums death and so I thought it would be apt to raise money in her memory.

I’m raising money for Action Against Heartburn which is a group of charities that promote earlier diagnosis of oesophageal cancer. Persistent heartburn is the most common symptom of oesophageal cancer, however many people are oblivious to this. The campaign aims to raise awareness and encourage people to get the underlying causes of heartburn investigated. It also aims to raise awareness amongst health professionals to ensure that people are referred for appropriate tests (rather than being advised to take gaviscon!)

The money the campaign raises will help spread the word and save lives, and so any money would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks for reading! 

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