Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page. We are running the Richmond Park half marathon in June to raise vital funds needed for families living with PTEN Hamartoma Tumour Syndrome in the UK and Ireland. One of our gym members, Kelly, has a son with this rare condition and we have seen first hand how it can impact families.

PHTS can affect people in many different ways and can vary considerably in severity.  In children it can cause developmental delay and autism. It is also a cancer predisposition gene, meaning that people with PHTS are prone to  developing certain types of cancer,  in particular breast and thyroid cancer. People with the condition may have problems affecting their skin including unusual pigmentation and wart-like lesions. Some people have overgrowth of blood vessels (arterio-venous malformations), which can be painful and disfiguring. 

All the money raised from our efforts will go towards setting up a counselling service for the families living with PHTS. This will create an invaluable life line to those families that otherwise are left feeling isolated and alone. Patients and families will be able to speak to a trained PTEN rare disease counsellor when they are first diagnosed, when they want to speak to someone about the daily struggles of living with the condition, when they get a new cancer diagnosis or when children are transitioning from child to adult services for example.

Living with a rare condition can make you feel very isolated, but having someone to speak to that understands your condition at the other end of the phone is invaluable and will make a huge difference.

For more information please check out the charities website: www.ptenuki.org.

We know times are hard for people right now. Any amount you can give will help us towards this goal and boost our determination and motivation to keep training. Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.