Thanks for taking the time read our story.

In March last year, my husband, Jeremy was diagnosed with stage 4 testicular cancer.  This means that it had spread to his lungs as well as the lymph nodes in his back and pelvis.  There is no stage 5.  

 A team of highly skilled and compassionate surgeons, oncologists, consultants, doctors and nurses worked together at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and Chelsea to provide life saving care and support to Jeremy through 2 major surgeries and months of intensive, in-patient
chemotherapy.  

In March this year, thankfully, Jeremy went into remission and quite simply, without the Marsden and its incredible team Jeremy would not be here. 

There is no doubt that consultant care, oncology and complex surgery conducted by the best of surgeons saved Jeremy's life. However, there were many other people at the Marsden in both Sutton and Chelsea who also made a huge difference to us all.  They enabled us to navigate the challenges of helping our girls, aged 4 and 6, to understand what was happening to Daddy, to create a new normal for our family and to stay calm in the face of a petrifying unknown.

There are many moments that stand out in my mind and most feature an incredible member of the Marsden team.

There was the oncology nurse, Richard, who rang me back each time Jeremy suddenly hung up the phone because he was too ill to talk.  He would reassure me and always stayed with Jeremy through the night making sure he was as comfortable as possible.

There was the intensive care nurse, Ana, who was there with us both again through the night never taking her eyes of Jeremy until he was stable. 

There was, Nicola, the nurse who was there with us both when we were told that the tumors in Jeremy's lungs had spread so much in a week that they had stopped counting at twenty. The cancer was not only advanced but aggressive.  'Advanced' and 'aggressive' are two words that are sure to strike absolute terror into anyone when related to cancer. Nicola was calm, pragmatic, and helped us focus on the treatment ahead.

It was also Nicola who talked us through how best to talk to the girls about cancer, to prepare them for hospital visits and she suggested things Jeremy might be able to do with them despite being very ill.  She made sure we were armed with the best resources available so that we were always extremely well informed.

There were the Friends of the Marsden, volunteers at both hospitals, mostly people who have either survived cancer, lost someone to cancer or cared for someone with cancer, who manned the cafes and snack trolley with smiles and kind, friendly words. They helped us rally inner strength we didn't know possible every single day. Ironically, a cancer hospital is one of the most positive places to hang out, probably because the alternative is too terrible, and boy does that teach you life changing lessons!

Then there was, Happy.  Yes, that really was his name!  The cook who kept creating different foods until Jeremy could eat something.

The list, honestly, could go on and on.

It isn't just the oncology and surgery that saves someone, the care from all those around Jeremy, the girls and I, made the difference in what could have been a more traumatic experience for all of us. Everyday we are grateful and thankful to all those at the Royal Marsden. 

Biking, running and scooting to raise £10k will never be enough but it's a start.  Between us we are doing a variety of events which kick off this weekend with the Prudential Ride100 - a 100 mile road bike race that I have been training for the last since February.  Please bear in mind, that I had never rode a road bike, clipped in, with gears, in London traffic - it has been emotional to say the least!  

In September, Bea and Sophia will do a Scootathon (bike, run, scoot) whilst I do a duathalon (bike and run) and then in October Jeremy and I will both run the Royal Parks Half Marathon.  An incredible feat for Jeremy who is still recovering. 

No doubt we will find other events to do over time but in the meantime, any donations to help us reach our target of £10,000 would be very, very much appreciated.

We hope to raise awareness and money to support The Royal Marsden Hospital and the superb work they do. They, and now we, imagine a future beyond cancer.  The Royal Marsden is dedicated to making this happen and as a world-leading cancer center they pioneer new treatments that save lives everyday.