Thanks for visiting my Justgiving page! 

As some of you might already know, I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) in March 2020. 

Since then, I have been very fortunate, in that with the treatment that I have had ever since and the support of my friends and family, I have made a full recovery to the point where it has a minimal effect on my life now.  

But outcomes like this haven’t always been possible for people with CML. The treatment that I currently have (Imatinib, a Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, for those who like a bit of the science) has only been around for the last 20 years or so. Before that, people with CML tended to have a life expectancy of around 3-5 years after diagnosis so I’m acutely aware that things would have been much worse for me if I had been in this situation back then when I was in my 20’s.  

Now, patients who are treated with Imatinib have the same life expectancy as anyone else. So the difference that treatments like this have made is pretty incredible. Through developments like this, Leukaemia survival rates have quadrupled in the last 40 years. The fact that such treatments have been developed is largely due to charitable organisations such as Cure Leukaemia who have funded numerous research programmes, clinical trials and patient care for people with Leukaemia. 

But there is still a lot of work that can be done to improve things for other people with Leukaemia. Over 4000 people die from Leukaemia every year in the UK, which equates to 13 people every day. A further 8000 people are newly diagnosed every year. 

The Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) is the programme that Cure Leukaemia is currently funding and operating in order to try and improve outcomes for those who are currently most adversely affected by Leukaemia. This programme enables the quick set-up and delivery of blood cancer clinical trials that are not available elsewhere, to patients who in many cases might have not responded to other treatments. So, it has life-changing importance for many people. 

So what am I going to do to help? 

Between 16th and 19th June 2022, I’ll be joining a group of cyclists who will ride 320 miles from London to Paris over four days to raise money for Cure Leukaemia. Any money that we raise will go directly to funding the regional centres and nurses that deliver the TAP. Back in 2020, being able to get out on my bike was one of the first things that I felt able to do when I started to recover. I'm now having to put the miles in to be ready for June and when I get back from my rides my three boys are enjoying laughing at me in my silly cycling gear and asking me how many miles I've done! But I feel very fortunate to be (hopefully!) be fit and well enough to be able to give something back to a charity that has done so much to help people like me, and to hopefully contribute to better outcomes for those who are not so fortunate at the moment. 

If you are able to sponsor me, I will of course be hugely grateful, as will may others that you will be helping with your kind donations. If you would like to know more about where the sponsor money will go, and the people that it will help, please have a look at this website: 

Cure Leukaemia 

Many thanks again and much love to you all, 

Stephen.