In December 2023 my beautiful wife, Ayşe, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, a soft tissue sarcoma. She first noticed what she thought was a benign lump on her thigh whilst we were on holiday enjoying ourselves.

Our life was completely turned upside down when a few weeks later Ayşe was diagnosed with cancer and she had to start 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy followed by major surgery to her leg.

After extensive rehabilitation Ayşe has recovered well from her treatment and surgery and is coming up to her 2-year check-up. She still has 8 years of regular check-ups ahead of her but it’s not stopping her to do the things she loves, like walking our dog on the beach, travelling and dancing. Our lives are filled with brighter days again.

We will forever be grateful for the medical teams at RNOH and UCLH. Their endless dedication, care and humour gave us so much strength in the most difficult time.

I am running the Brighton Marathon 2026 for Sarcoma UK, a national charity that funds vital research, offers support for anyone affected by sarcoma cancer and campaigns for better treatments.

Sarcoma is a type of cancer that develops in the bone and soft tissue. It is difficult to diagnose and one of the hardest to treat. By supporting me, we can help change this. Your donation will help researchers find answers, keep the specialist Support Line open, and raise awareness to improve treatment and standards of care.

Your donations go so far in helping the sarcoma community:

£8.80 Could cover the cost of 10, 21 minute calls to Sarcoma UK's Support Line

£25 Could fund a Research Associate to work on a Sarcoma UK research project for one hour

£600 Could purchase a cell line to study sarcoma biology and test new treatments in a laboratory.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and any donation to Sarcoma UK is greatly appreciated.

With heartfelt thanks

Alex