It is with delight I am in a position to support The Anthony Nolan Trust by running London marathon to raise funds on their behalf to assist them in continuing their tremendous work and continuing to save lives.

In early 2011 my dad developed Non Hodgkinson Lymphoma, a blood cancer that is incurable, however can be “contained” with treatments.

After many rounds of difficult treatments it was pushed back and into remission.

However in late 2012 it was back and along with treatments the only way to push it back this time was to harvest and cleanse his stem cells (bone marrow) and reintroduce them to the body or to find a donors cells and introduce them-in both occasions praying his body accepted them.

It was decided by doctors to harvest his own and try this route.

Thankfully this was a success and he continues to live a reasonably normal life.

The reason I’ve chosen to run for Anthony Nolan is, although his cancer is in remission, it can return at any time.

The treatments are similar however this time he would need donor cells.

Donors could be as simple as me or another relative or as random as someone he passes on the street, the only way to find this is to test and compare suitability.

Anthony Nolan Trust hold a register of potential donors which makes the task of locating a donor simpler.

With this in mind I felt it was important to do what I can to assist them in continuing their great work.

Thank you for reading, any support is appreciated by all who are affected by this scenario.

• 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.