Yes, it's hard to imagine me actually running anywhere, I know!

Cancer is a devastating disease, isn't it? It not only claims lives but it can wreck havoc in the lives of those it leaves behind and its legacy can go on and on...... It claimed the lives of my father's parents before I was even born, so I grew up never knowing much about them - what they were like, who they really were in fact. I still mourned the grandparents I never knew, our lost potential as a family together. Their untimely death within only a few months of each other when my father was only 17 did an awful lot to shape his life too. I often wonder whether, had Dad not been dealt such a hefty blow at such a young age, he would have pursued the lifestyle that led to his recent death. (Those of you who knew him, well, perhaps that crossed your mind too.)

In more recent years, cancer took from my close friend, Lucy, a future (and now a not present) mother-in-law, from my god-daughter, Natalie, from another close friend, Liz, a mum and from my aunt, Barbara, a husband. The fallout was hard to witness. 

With these people in mind, I have always considered Cancer Research UK a very worthy charity and have made donations when the opportunity presented itself, even sponsoring friends daft enough to run 5km for it!

I guess when my darling Mum was diagnosed with cancer last November, cancer's grip struck me with a terrifying freshness. It's my turn now to run this race and to try to raise funds for a charity for whom beating cancer is at it's very heart.

So thank you for visiting our Race for Life fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor us online.

Events like Race for Life are an important way in which Cancer Research UK is able to fund its life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. By sponsoring me now you could help more people survive cancer. People like Mum, who is awaiting her final surgery. People like my friend Lesley, who has just been told she has Leukaemia. People like my friend Geri's brother, Dermot, fighting brain cancer. People that you know, who are at the moment battling the disease. People whose lives we want to claim back from cancer. People we want to see survive!

And there are so many survivors these days, thanks to the work done by Cancer Research UK. Family members and friends, for whom their cancer is just a dim, though unpleasant memory. Names (thankfully) too numerous to mention on here. It can be done, it's done every day, but not without the work of reseach organisations like this one.

So please sponsor us now! Eleanor and I are doing this for Mum and for all of us who have been and will be touched by cancer at sometime in our lives.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me - Cancer Research UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support. You never know. You might be glad you gave it one day...

Love Jill and Eleanor Kuhn

 

UPDATE!!!!

The morning after I run this race, my mum will leave for Leeds Royal Infirmary, where a specialist team, headed by world reknown oncologist, Mr Seagar. will be waiting to remove her massive tumour. In doing so, they will have to take a degree of healthy tissue and also carry out reconstructive surgery in the area from which they remove the growth. They are fully confident they can be successful in this, but it will be a massive op and so I ask all of you not only for your donations, but for your thoughts and prayers.

 

POST OP UPDATE ON MUM!!!!

Well what a day! I was so blessed to have Rick take the day off work to support me on the second hardest day of my life.

Mum has gone to  a hospital in Leeds for her surgery. People come from all over the world to be operated on by her surgical team.

Her op started at 9am this morning and she was back on the main ward by 2.30pm. Praise God - there was no need for ITU or HDU.

The doc said the op went very, very well and as far as they could possibly see/ tell, they'd sucessfully removed all of the cancer. It has to go to histology though, as I think they check there are no cancerous cells in the healthy tissues they removed. I suppose if there are, she'd have to have a bit more chemo or radio, but we have no reason to think there are at this stage as they took a good portion of healthy tissue..

It was largely done by keyhole (originally there had been talk of an incision from breastbone to pelvis) and she was down to hourly obs within 2 hours of coming back from theatre, with excellent temps and BP.

I don't think they had to do any reconstructive surgery as first thought.

The medics were extremely pleased with the surgery and with her post-operative condition, which is excellent, but she was shattered!

Tonight, she has called me twice and texted me once. She was praising God every time we spoke.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if they keep her in 10 days and bet she'll be out by next Monday..

I think this whole experience has really altered Mum in many ways and feel that she has been seriously anointed by God to have a prayer ministry to the sick. She and I have talked about this. Last time she was in hospital in November, she was wandering around, praying for people and bringing them such comfort and love, it was unreal! For a long time (weeks in fact) after her first surgery, she remained in the presence of an angel. It was quite surreal, as you'd be chatting to her when she'd suddenly say, "I can see my angel over there!" quite calmly. She'd describe her angel in detail to me, as emanating a green/gold light and as bringing to her God's perfect peace and tranquility.   She's had hundreds of people praying for her (our whole church, you guys, a church in Birmingham, Kings Church in Coventry - even the ladies where my cousin works at British Telecom have been emailing Louise all day for news) and has seemed to become a focal point for so many. It's got so much bigger than just our family. She's become a powerful witness within the Christian community to having supreme faith and peace in the face of suffering. Really, you would not believe!

I couldn't be more proud of her and am delighted that it looks as though I will have the privilege of being her daughter here on Earth for many years to come (of course, I will always be her daughter, but you know what I mean). I did miss my darling dad a lot today though....

Thank you all for praying for us today and recently and thank you also for your kind sponsorship for my Race4Life. It went really well and I raised over 400 pounds so far! My friends have raced in Mum's name and raised another 400 squid between them.

Thank you, thank you, thank you......