My wife Shiona has been living with and treated for Stage 4 melanoma for the past 18 months. To put some context around that statement, as recently as 5 to 10 years ago, a patient with stage 4 melanoma would typically only survive for between 6 to 9 months.  Thankfully, advancements in the understanding and treatment of melanoma mean that for some patients that is no longer the case. 

Sunday 14th October is our 13th wedding anniversary, so what better way to celebrate than to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon in support of Shiona, who continues to receive excellent treatment and care from the Royal Marsden.  With the support of our amazing friends and family, we have raised over £32k in the last 15 months to provide funds for on-going research projects at the Royal Marsden.

Her story including a recent blog post written by myself can be read at: www.shomelanoma.com

I will be joined by one of my mates, Fraser Brock, who is also running for the 2nd time.  I first met Fraser in July 1995 when we were both working as graduates for Faithful & Gould in London.  Whilst we have not worked together for about 20 years,  we remain good mates.  When I asked, Fraser was only too happy to sign up to run with me again, which is greatly appreciated.

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre. We ensure our nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world. From funding state-of-the-art equipment and groundbreaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, we will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.