My incredible cousin Yera was diagnosed with leukemia right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. I could only watch in awe how she faced the battle largely physically on her own, enduring an incredibly tough journey, but through it all, she stayed strong and has come out the other side with a smile.

I owe a lot of my amazing childhood memories to Yera (Ben) and am grateful daily that she has won against the big C. Especially for those I know who haven’t been so fortunate 🙁

Today, Yera is leading our team as we raise money for the amazing people who helped her become five years cancer-free. 💪🏽

She and our family will be taking part in the London Bridgathon 2025, walking alongside other survivors and supporters.

Please sponsor us if you can - every little bit will help UCLH give the same strength, support and hope to others going through the same tough journey.

Here are Yera’s words:

As many of you know, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2020. This was during Covid. The world was scary enough without me having to face the biggest battle of my life. I spent months in hospital and even though I wasn't allowed any visitors, I never felt alone. The love and support I received from my family, friends and colleagues kept me going.

But I have to give a huge shout out to the staff who looked after me. Without them, I wouldn't be here today. I owe them my life and I will be forever grateful for their care and support over the past 5 years.

I am so happy to be fit enough to be able to raise money for such an amazing cause and celebrate my 5 year anniversary of being cancer free. I'm even happier to be able to do the sponsored walk alongside my gorgeous family who have supported me throughout this journey. 18 of us will be walking along the Thames to raise money for Haematology Cancer Care.

Haematological Cancer Care have a strong community of patients, families and staff committed to supporting haematological cancers through fundraising activities and events. Uniquely, they are run by senior clinical staff working closely with all haematology teams and haematology patients ensuring donations make a significant impact on the services here at UCLH.

They provide wide-ranging support including high-tech medical equipment and research projects, free complementary therapy for patients and specialist education for nurses across six inpatient wards, day-care, ambulatory care and young adult and outpatient services.

Please help raise money for UCLH Haematology Cancer Care and help them save more lives, just like they saved mine.

Thank you.

Yera