My husband, James, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia on our daughter’s 6th birthday and our son was only 8 months old.

AML is an aggressive blood cancer, it affects young white blood cells and causes the rapid growth of abnormal cells. These cells overcrowd the bone marrow and make it harder for the blood to carry oxygen, fight infections and stop bleeding. It is considered a rare blood cancer that affects around 3100 people in the UK each year.

I will never forget the moment that we were told that’s what we were facing as a young family. James is only 43 and it typically affects older people aged 65+ but can occur at any age, mostly amongst men.

Equally, I will never forget the moment James’ consultant (my hero) picked us up off the floor and told us he could treat and even cure the disease. He filled us with hope, strength and courage to fight and we will forever be in awe of him and his team for their knowledge and expertise.

I want to run the marathon because I feel completely inspired by the whole team of haematology, without them James wouldn’t have survived. I want to run the marathon and raise money for Leukaemia Care UK because this charity funds life saving research and medicine and offers support to everyone suffering with blood cancer and their families. Some Leukaemia’s don’t have the positive prognosis that James’ does and without charities like this we can’t fight it hard enough.

I’m also running the marathon for my husband. He has fought in the face of cancer everyday since his diagnosis and he still does. The treatment is gruelling, it has a huge impact on the body and it has changed our lives as we knew them forever, but in most ways we will come out of the other side more enriched.

Please support me if you can by donating, attending my fundraisers or simply sharing this post to reach as many people as possible.