My daughter Francesca was diagnosed in January 2021 with ovarian cancer. This cancer is often called 'the silent killer' because it is regularly diagnosed far too late. Francesca is having treatment and of course time will tell how effective her treatment is, but we remain positive and confident she will recover from this insidious disease. 

The harsh reality is that far too many young women don't make it because unlike some other cancers, there is no effective screening or testing and many don't know the symptoms which inevitably leads to late diagnosis. 

Here's the thing. Francesca's diagnosis hit me hard because as a father, it is your worst nightmare to see this happening and being powerless to prevent it. As a dad I just want to fix things, but this is something I can't just 'fix'. However, what I CAN do is raise awareness and hopefully generate some cash to support the people who are working so hard to find ways to identify this cancer earlier, particularly in young women, and increase their chances of survival.

I am now training to compete in the Ironman race in Lanzarote - allegedly the toughest single day event in the world. Here is a short video promoting the 2020 race - just paste this link in your browser: https://youtu.be/qg6TqqITLyw 

Full disclosure... I have been here before, this is not my first Ironman, nor my first one in Lanzarote - however the last one was quite a few year ago and I was 25kgs lighter! So my challenge is to get in shape for this - I will be 60 this year but your donations to this great cause will get me through the punishing training sessions over the winter and through to the finish line in May next year. 

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.