Dear friends

I am taking part in the Blenheim Palace triathlon on 7th June to raise money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

In their words, “every year we stop more people dying of blood cancer and our researchers are even working to stop people developing blood cancer in the first place. We improve the lives of patients with blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma because we believe everyone should be able to live their life to the full”.

This cause is very close to my heart because my lovely mum, Jane, is fighting myeloma - cancer of the bone marrow. If she can put up with all the s*** that comes with myeloma - feeling ill and tired, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, all the side effects of treatment, painful brittle and broken bones, endless hospital visits - the very least I can do is set myself a physical challenge and maybe inspire a few of you to donate a few pennies towards this important cause.

Cancer is evil and unfair. My hope is that this fundraising will help scientists inch towards finding more effective treatments and one day, prevention and a cure, so other families do not have to go through the trauma of diagnosis and living with blood cancer.

My triathlon will consist of a swim in the lake then off with the wetsuit and on to a bike for a 13km race around the palace grounds, then a (horrible) 3km run to the finish line. Last year I completed the triathlon in 1 hour 5 minutes 41 seconds. This year I’m aiming to finish under one hour. We’ll see!

Thank you for helping me reach my fundraising goal, your support means a lot to me and my family.

With love, Helen x