Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In November I am embarking on a solo journey, skiing 702 miles to the South Pole, unassisted, pulling all my equipment and supplies in a sled weighing 110kg at the start in a journey that will take up to 50 days. 

Through this journey I want to raise funds for Cancer Research as almost four years ago, I found out that my mother had cancer. Initially the prognosis wasn't clear though within a couple of days we were told that it was terminal as the cancer had spread throughout her body. Apparently it had just been growing for some years before it was diagnosed. She had passed away in less than 10 days of finding out. It was a shock to the entire family--while she had had aches and pains with age, she had always been active and had seemed well. While some time has now gone by, the memories of seeing her suffering over her last few days are still very vivid and clear, and very present. I am not entirely sure that those memories will ever truly fade.

Several other friends I have known have also had their own battles with cancer, and of course, I am in a far from unique position. While some battles do go well and treatment can be successful, seeing the terrible suffering caused by cancer and its treatments can be quite awful. 

I have loved working towards expeditions over the last ten years and my mother was always incredibly supportive of these journeys, and she loved chatting about the time on the ice. If through my South Pole expedition I can help Cancer Research raise money towards researching diagnostic techniques, cures and treatments that can alleviate that suffering... Then maybe these journeys may actually can count for something much beyond just my own personal challenges - I truly hope that this can be the case and I hope you can help support this.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.