20 years ago in 2002, I was only 7 years old and my brother 17 when he was diagnosed with Mylodisplasia (MDS) which is a type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow. At 7 years old I only remember the little things about my brothers cancer journey, the fact I got to get a Happy Meal from McDonald’s after spending long nights in the hospital, that I would cuddle him whilst he was sleeping and pick all the hairs out of his arms/eyebrows/beard as they would just fall out or that he would always make me try his hospital food (like chicken soup) before he ate it as he’s such a fussy eater haha.

From diagnosis my brother had at least 300 pints of blood transfused and 80 bags of platelets all from different people. He had intensive radio and chemotherapy for roughly 2 weeks before his bone marrow transplant. After 2 years and 4 months he finally got the all clear in 2004.

The main reason why my brother is nearly 18 years in remission is due to the fact he had a successful bone marrow transplant from a donor who was a 40 year old women from the USA. He had never met this lady and the only thing he knows about her (still to this day) was her sex, age and location. The selfless act from that woman and every single person that gave blood has saved the life of a complete stranger, MY BROTHER 💚

As a fully grown woman it’s only now I understand how brave my brother was for going through all of that as a teenager, I can’t even begin to imagine how scared & depressed he must of felt. The ending of this story COULD of been a very different. To be able to run the London Marathon with him cheering me on rather than in the memory of him is something I am very grateful for. 

There are around 250,000 people living in the UK with a form of blood cancer, with it being the 5th most common cancer to have. If I can raise money for other people to get a second chance in life like my brother did or raise awareness so people will go and donate blood then it was all worth it.

Please sponsor me (even if it is £1) EVERY LITTLE HELPS or if you haven’t got the funds right now then please sign up to your local blood bank and donate blood… you really could save a life! 

Love Beth xxx

For someone with blood cancer, a stem cell transplant could be their last chance of survival. Today, five people will start their search for a stranger to save their life. Anthony Nolan is the charity that makes lifesaving connections between people with blood cancer and incredible strangers ready to donate their stem cells. It costs £40 to add each new potential donor to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register. Every new person on the register means another chance for someone to find their lifesaving match. By donating to our page, you will be giving more people with blood cancer the chance of a future. Thank you so much. Together, we can keep saving lives.