In November 2013 I will be taking part in a challenge to cycle over 330km through Kerala, India. The reason I am taking part in this challenge is to raise funds for the Lungs for Living Appeal.

Lungs for Living is a ground breaking project that is being run by some of the world's most respected and experienced researchers and clinicians to develop an integrated lung cancer research facility at UCLH.  Lung Cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death worldwide in both men and women, causing more deaths than the next four commonest cancers combined (i.e breast, colorectal, prostate and pancreas cancers).

At UCLH we have an internationally unique cohort of patients with early lung cancer lesions. These patients visit every 6-12 months and undergo screening of their lesions for progression to cancer. Early cancers are treated aggressively. Biopsies from these lesions over time have given us an internationally unique collection of biological samples and we are now congregating a team of research clinicians and scientists to work on these samples and care for the patients. 

The Lungs for Living research team predict that over the next 5 years they will be able to describe with precision how lung cancer develops and which genes are mutated, over expressed and biologically active. This delineation will allow them to develop new targets to stop lung cancer formation.

Over the next ten years the team aims to produce a programme of work developing new detection methods and therapies for lung cancer. This will be of huge benefit to patients who are unfit to survive current therapies.

Please help me to raise funds for this pioneering and world leading research project.