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Here's my story, some of you know it.  I have some wonderful friends who are supporting me and Race for Life.  Please read on because in more ways that one, I'm kind of unique!

There are 3 parts to this, bear with me, hopefully you will find it an interesting read :) and understand why I'm looking for a bear hug!

Part 1, August 2012, What a difference a year or two makes!

My name’s Gilly Jenkins and I work in the sales team for Salesforce in the UK.  

As well as working for the best company in the cloud, I’m a wife and the mother of a son aged ten and a daughter who’s only four but seems to have been born a teenager.

I love swimming - I used to regularly swim one hundred lengths of the pool at my health club – and running around the forest that surrounds my home in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.

 I’ve always considered myself to be fit and healthy so imagine my surprise when, approximately two years ago, I was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

 I was assured that 95% of patients recover from this form of cancer. The cure, so I was told, would be a six month course of chemotherapy.

 After my treatment the signs were good my PET scan was clear. But unfortunately the cancer returned with a vengeance within a couple of months.

The consultants needed to reduce the size of the cancer so that I could have an allogenic (donor) stem cell transplant as soon as possible and the process started in September 2011.  Over the next five months I had four chemotherapy regimes. 

Each course of chemotherapy meant a stay in hospital away from my family and each time I was told that the odds of success were high. But I was always in the smallest percentile and all four failed to get me to a stage where I could have that vital transplant.

The last chance was to try a drug called Brentuximab which isn’t widely available in the UK because it hasn’t been approved by NICE - our equivalent of the FDA. The clinical trials in the UK were looking positive but because the treatment didn’t have the NICE approval, our medical insurers would not fund it.

Brentuximab is a leading edge drug and is incredibly expensive. Because of my illness it had been a long time since I had earned the big commission payments that my family had grown used to. We would find the money somehow (I’m worth it!)  And this would probably mean selling our home or months of fundraising.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to sell the house. Marc Benioff, our CEO, most unexpectedly and very generously offered to pay for my treatment.

I’ve not met Mr Benioff in person yet. But I read that he has the body of a bear and the mind of a fox. I would add to that by saying he also has the soul of an angel because Brentuximab turned out to be my wonder drug.

By March 2012 my cancer was in remission and I could receive a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor who had been found the previous November.

Before the transplant I was told that I had a one in four chance of dying which is kind of scary. I was advised to plan for the best and prepare for the worst which involved getting my will up to date and writing letters to my children to remind them just how much I love them.

The transplant involves a six week stay in hospital. The first week was for “conditioning” which is an ultra high dose of chemotherapy. The day of the transplant is called Day Zero and for such an important procedure it’s a bit of an anti-climax. You lie in bed and have a painless infusion of the peach coloured fluid that you hope will save your life. More grueling is the following few weeks when your body battles with the introduction of somebody else’s DNA and the accompanying drugs.

On Day 100 I had a PET scan and it was clear! That doesn’t mean it’s all over but it is a very good step in the right direction.  I will be scanned for the next five years and if there is no reappearance after two years, I will be very happy.  I have been warned that the cancer can always come back and as a result of all the chemotherapy I’ve had, I will always have a higher risk of developing other forms of cancer but for now I would just like to get to the eighteen month mark.

Anyway, it’s now August 2012 and my road to recovery is going okay but it is three steps forward and two steps back.  I have very low blood counts which make me neutroplenic. To boost my counts sky high doses of steroids have been added to my daily cocktail of drugs and medicine. The consultants monitor my condition closely in a bid to find out the cause of the low blood counts and address it. 

My immune system is very low and consequently I have a high risk of infection so I have to avoid crowded places, public transport and anyone with coughs, colds, fever etc. A common cold can have serious side effects for me and I have been admitted into hospital several times since being ‘released’ L

Not that I’ve got one but, I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. When you’re being treated for cancer you have a lot of time for contemplation. I have a strong and determined personality and I am completely focussed on “Kicking Cancer’s Arse”.  I’m alive and truly grateful to have the complete support of a loving family, a dedicated medical team, the best drug treatment, a generous donor what’s more I’m employed by a great company. So, maybe it’s best that cancer picked on me.

I’m far from being cured and every day I am completely exhausted but I’m very happy to be here and feel 100% positive.  I hope to be back to my normal self and full of energy soon and I look forward to going back to Salesforce and giving Marc Benioff a really big bear hug.

As my story proves not all the drugs work for all patients so, it’s absolutely essential that we continue to fund research to help them find a cure. 

Part 2, July 2013, How time flies!

It’s been a tough year since August 2012 and for the first 8 months I was really still quite ill!  My blood counts weren’t playing ball and I spent a couple of months during the winter being hit by every germ around.  My 5 year old could shrug the winter bugs off within a week but because my immune system was very low, I got full blown Influenza as a Christmas present! 

I have to say that although staying in bed may seem great to some people, feeling so tired that you can’t get out of bed in the morning is really not fun and it takes its toll.  Exhaustion makes you grouchy and for an active person the inability to have the energy to get through a day is really rather annoying. 

In February I was told that my DNA didn’t match my donor’s so a top up transplant was needed.  Although a transplant isn’t great, without the chemotherapy it’s a bit of a walk in the park.  There are risks of course but hey, I’m used to signing the disclaimers.

For as long as I’m not 100% match to my donor and I have my old DNA in my body, there’s a really high chance that the cancer could return, so a top-up is a no brainer.

When you have a transplant you take on the donor’s DNA. My blood group has changed too!  Another side effect is that you hear the joke that about robbing a bank before the transplant hundreds of times!

I started to feel normal again from April 2013 onwards and decided to get off my butt and start building up my stamina and confidence by going to the gym.  It’s been very gentle exercise most of the time but I’ve always enjoyed being active and focussing on something other than picking up clothes and toys after my kids, is definitely what I needed.

From May I returned to SFDC one day a week.  I have to say that I really enjoy it but I hadn’t realised just how exhausted I would be.  It’s not a good start to the day when I have to spend two hours on the M25. 

So how am I today?  Well, I still get very tired and spend many an afternoon tucked up in bed for a couple of hours rest - I find this such a waste of time but if I’m not going to be the grouchiest girl in Berkhamsted then it’s a necessity.  My immune system isn’t normal but I have been in good health for quite a while.  What I find really annoying is that although my concentration levels and memory have improved enormously, they really aren’t back to normal yet – you try learning the corporate pitch with a memory like a goldfish – there are a lot of slides!

I’m now 17 months post initial transplant and my last scan in May was clear and I recently got the excellent news that I match my donor 100%. 

I’ve still got a long way to go and I must admit that I didn’t realise that the journey would be so long.  I’m not complaining as being alive is definitely the preferred option, I’m just reluctant to say that I’m cured because the truth is, I’m not yet and there is always a risk of it coming back.  I really don’t mean to sound morbid but I live with this reality. 

Stem cell transplants have been used as treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma for just 8 years so no patient has survived longer than this. It’s not impossible but it hasn’t been done yet so this is a KPI that I’m determined to beat.

 Part 3, June 2014, Onwards and upwards

I’m moving onto the next stage of my recovery and 2014 is definitely showing an upward trajectory both on the health and work axes.

Recovery from a life threatening illness is never a straight line and sometimes my cadence falters but I’m definitely heading in the right direction.

I got tired of saying I was tired all the time and, although I suffer extreme bouts of exhaustion – which seem to come on for no particular reason – I’m certainly feeling better. Without wishing to sound overly dramatic I actually feel alive.

And life is good, really good.

As my energy returned I was able to make my own comeback and I have gradually increased my working hours.

Salesforce, as ever, have been wonderfully supportive. It was clear that I wasn’t ready for a full on sales roles so I was eased back into the swing of things by joining the ranks of the sales productivity team.

Working in sales productivity was a good move. It gave me great opportunity to catch up with all the exciting developments and acquisitions as well brush up on my sales presentations.

After getting my badges under my belt (or should I say on my chest) I moved over to the Alliances team and I’m glad to say I’ve got five partners to manage.

When in May last year I returned to work one, six hour day, per week (pathetic I know) I couldn’t have imagined that in 2014 I’d be up to working three, 12 hour days.

Another change is that I’m now working in the fabulous Salesforce Tower, the journey adds up to three hours to my day. It’s a chore but I see it as another sign of my progress towards full health.

But sometimes my progress falters. Without going into details I’ve had a couple of cancer scares, fortunately they’ve both been negative. 

Believe it or not there is a positive side to having cancer. It develops an enormous sense of gratitude. Take a few moments to consider the following:

·        At Salesforce we receive medical insurance as part of our benefits package, it’s easy to take it for granted. But let me tell you that the cost of my treatment was over £1.5m.

·        Over the past three years I’ve had over 100 hospital appointments and spent 75 nights in a hospital bed. I’ve been lucky to have been in the private wing of a cancer centre of excellence.

·        My treatment has left me infertile. I’m so grateful that we have our children.

·        Salesforce has an income protection policy that kicks in after a few months. Without that valuable benefit my family would have been well and truly up a gum tree.

·        I’m alive. Not all of the friends I made in the hospital are here today.

But most of all I am grateful for Marc Benioff’s incredibly generous gift of authorising the payment for the Brentuximab, the very expensive wonder drug that saved my life. I am meeting Mr Benioff on Monday and he is going to get one heck of a hug.

Not everyone works for Salesforce, not everyone knows Marc Benioff, not everyone is as lucky as me.

And that’s why I am running The Race For Life, on Sunday 27th July.

I'm prepared to run, walk or crawl to raise money for cancer research.

The more we give to cancer research the sooner we will be able to kick cancer’s arse.

·        The more money we raise, the more effective cancer treatments will become.

·        The more money we raise, the more we will reduce the cost of cancer treatment.

·        The more money we raise, hopefully the more people will be able to have children after treatment.

·        The more money we raise, the more treatments will be available on the NHS.

·        The more money we raise, the more lives we will save.

During my recovery I’ve had plenty of time to count my blessings. I’m very lucky.

Please take a few moments to think how lucky you are too. Please give generously and help people who are not as lucky as us.

Thank you for reading this far :)