My wife Dee has just come out the other end of a cancer scare. So we’re going to be raising money for Weston Park Cancer Charity, who’ve done so much to support us.

On 21 July, I’ll be doing a 24 hour charity livestream over at twitch.tv/akblackandred to raise money for Weston Park.

• If we meet our target, then Dee will bleach my beard.
• If we double it, she’ll dye my beard purple.
• If we quadruple it, then she will wax my back – all live on stream!
• I’m also pledging that my share of the income from that stream in subscriptions or bits will go in its entirety into the charity pot.

It was about six weeks ago that Dee found a lump in her breast.

She is very careful to check her breasts monthly for lumps, and as soon as she did she phoned the doctor. The next morning, she had an appointment at the local GP and was referred for a screening.

When Dee was referred, she was told that the target waiting time was two weeks.

However, it didn’t take long for that to shoot up to eight weeks. There’s a considerable waiting list backlog as a result of Covid, which news reports in April estimated was upwards of half a million people in Wales, where we live.

While we were waiting, the lump in Dee’s breast increased in size and she started experiencing breast pain. This change in symptoms prompted her doctor to try to push her up the waiting list, although this would only have knocked the wait down from eight to six weeks.

In practice, though, the wait went up – first to ten weeks, then to twelve.

It was at that last increase that we made the difficult decision to pay for a private screening. For £500, she was seen a week after being told that the wait had gone up, and was the same day told the good news that the lump was just swollen glandular tissue. The swelling had been exacerbated by the stress of worrying she might have cancer, and could be addressed through some dietary changes.

This was a huge relief, not only because it meant the woman I love would be okay, but also because it meant that we didn’t have to face another two months (or perhaps more) worrying about worst case scenarios.

Our situation was taking a toll on Dee’s mental health as she dealt with all the fear and uncertainty the scare brought with it.

In that situation, Weston Park were beyond fantastic.

They provided practical advice, but more importantly they listened. They were there when Dee needed them, and they understood what she was going through.

This cause means a lot to me and to Dee after everything that’s happened. We know we were lucky, and we want to make sure those who aren’t get all the help and support they deserve.