So I’ve signed up for the Gower Peninsula Ultra 100 Challenge on July 19/20th this Summer…….

I’ve committed myself to this madness in aid of AMMF a charity dedicated to raising awareness, early diagnosis, treatment and support of sufferers of cholangiocarcinoma - bile duct cancer which tends to be aggressive, difficult to diagnose with very limited treatment options.

My best friend and love of my life Polly Bailey owes her life in no small part to the wonderful people at AMMF: Two and a half years ago after weeks of test/scans/biopsies she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma and told with chemo she had 4 - 6 months to live. AMMF helped her access pioneering drugs trials via the amazing Professor Bridgewater and his team at UCLH in London.

Two and a half years on she is fit and well. She is no longer on the trial drug as her cancer mutated and it ceased to be effective. Professor Bridgewater has prescribed alternative treatments that appear to be keeping the cancer at bay for the time being and we are hopeful she will be eligible for another drug trial due later this year. Hopefully this will continue to extend her life or even shrink the tumours to the point where surgery is an option to remove them.

And yes Polly is also signed up for the Ultra 100 challenge and those of you who know her will know she’ll probably be waiting for me at the finish line 😂 100k is way further than I have ever done before but I’m looking forward to the challenge and seeing how far I can push myself.

Please give generously if you can 🙏 it’s not just at Tesco’s where every little helps!

“Cholangiocarcinoma is a devastating cancer. It seems to be increasing and we don’t know why. It presents late in its course, is difficult to diagnose accurately and early, and most cases cannot be cured. However, there are several treatment options available. Clearly there is a great need for ongoing research to find out the causes of this disease so we can develop better diagnostic tests and more effective treatments.”

– Professor Shahid A Khan, Consultant Physician & Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London