We are running the colour dash in honour of our Mother/Sister/Aunty Maria Opuni. Maria was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2019.

In her journey it has meant in just 3yrs, she was diagnosed with a Plasmacytoma compressing her spinal cord, paralysing her from the waist down. This was then surgically removed and then zapped with Radiotherapy. We were hoping it was a solitary tumour but this then led to the full development of Multiple Myeloma. She has since had intensive chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant in March 2021 and is now living on permanent “maintenance chemotherapy” called Revlimid, and bone strengthening treatments. Physically, she faces challenges she didn’t before, mainly managing pain and neuropathy (nerve damage from chemo) and fatigue. 

Myeloma is treatable but incurable. It is a relapsing and remitting cancer. This means there are periods where the cancer is causing severe symptoms and needs intensive treatment, followed by periods of stability. The progress in the Myeloma research and treatment space is pretty remarkable. Ten years ago her prognosis would have been around 2 years. With the constant advancement of medical science, stem cell therapy and the newly trialled Car T therapies, the life expectancy of Myeloma patients is increasing. Myeloma UK have played a vital role in this which is why we have decided to run for them in support of the amazing breakthroughs they have contributed towards with the aim to find a cure!

The Colour Obstacle Dash as is a fun and light hearted way to help raise money for an organisation that could one day help to save lots of peoples lives, including Maria's! We thank you for taking the time to read this page, if you are able to donate at all towards this cause, it would be greatly appreciated 🧡