I am running the Cancer Research 10k London Winter Run to raise money for a beautiful little girl who was diagnosed at 2-years-old with a rare, life threatening cancer called high-risk neuroblastoma. 

When an artist who I have worked with for almost 20 years told me about her niece I felt I had to do something to try to help. The money raised will go towards further treatment to try to save Beatriz's life. As a father of two little girls, I hope that this small gesture will make a big difference. 

Please donate if you can - no donation is too small as every pound counts. 

Beatriz's story

Beatriz had already become really clingy by the time she had stopped eating. 

"We thought she was just being picky", says her mum Laura. "When she had a fever for four weeks, we were told it was a recurring virus. When she refused to walk because her legs hurt, then we got really scared."

After weeks of trips to the doctors and A&E, they were called into a room at the Whittington Hospital and told the news that would turn their lives upside down. There was a lump and it was suspected neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer. 

"We went to Great Ormond Street Hospital the next day and started intensive chemotherapy within the week," continues Laura.

A year full of treatment

Since then Beatriz has been in hospital for nearly half of 2019, spending both her birthday and Christmas there. She's had hundreds of injections, countless general anaesthetics, endless chemotherapy drugs and lost all her amazing curly hair. 

She's due to start a new trial on the NHS at GOSH. But her future is uncertain. The trial is far from guaranteed to work and, even if Beatriz gets into remission, relapse rates are high and her parents will do everything they can to stop the cancer returning. This includes the possibility of a vaccine in New York.

Beatriz's fundraising campaign

Beatriz's family are raising money for further treatment, either to get their daughter into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if treatment does go to plan.

"Having Solving Kids' Cancer, a specialist neuroblastoma charity, to help us is comforting. They are an amazing charity who help families throughout treatment and beyond, and endlessly push for more research into this disease. Any money we don't use will be used for research - to help other children. And that's important to us."