I have been lucky enough to recover from cancer and I am using my experience to promote awareness, encourage people to fight it and raise funds towards prevention and care.

If you can, please sponsor me, whether you give £1 or £1,000, it will make a difference to people with cancer who need help. 

Cancer Research forecast that 1 in 2 of us in the UK will get cancer in our lifetime, its something we have to address.

I was diagnosed with cancer of the penis, something that I wasn't even aware existed and given I wasn't aware of it, I never understood the symptoms, something that could have cost me my life! 

I understand first hand the difficulties of :

• Sharing devastating news with your family, your children, friends and strangers, and then the impact on them as the news sinks in
• The uncertainty of not knowing what future you might or might not have,
• The physical and mental challenges cancer brings,
• The impact of treatment on your immune system,
• Staying true to yourself and not letting it define you, 
• The challenge to return to good physical fitness
• Wondering if you are going to be told the cancer has returned when you have check ups 

  
  

  These are just some of the challenges we face when dealing with cancer, and nurses play a huge role in helping us overcome these challenges and share in our joy and relief if we can win the battle.

My cancer was found relatively early, but it had advanced enough that after a total of 8 operations, I required a partial penectomy (removal of the head of the penis) to avoid the cancer spreading further, I can't thank the doctor who diagnosed it, and the surgeon who went through my journey with me, enough.

What I can do, is use this experience to give something back, through:

• Raising awareness, sharing information about penile cancer, encouraging people to check themselves or get checked by a doctor
• Raising funds from completing challenges that stretch me, the funds go directly to funding nurses
• Supporting people personally and hopefully inspiring them to battle to overcome cancer and not let it define them

If you want to know more about my experience - put the words: Jeff Addison cancer into google and read the news articles OR direct mail me.

Thanks for supporting my fundraising. Macmillan Cancer Support is here to help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can, providing physical, financial and emotional support. So whatever cancer throws your way, Macmillan will be there with you.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them 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.