An invitation to mark my 75th birthday on 11 July.

Naima, my grand-daughter celebrated her 14th birthday a few weeks ago. I look back five years to the eve of my 70th birthday when she was just 9 and diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. A cancer so rare it receives no institutional research funding.

Since then Nimmy has endured multiple surgeries; 18 months of IV chemotherapy and brutal treatments. She is now on oral chemotherapy and will be for some time to come. The side effects will last for the rest of her life.

Together with friends and family we raised over £30,000 and joined other families touched by this rare cancer to kick start the first ever UK research project. Prof Mathew Collin, Newcastle University is working with Wellcome Sanger, Cambridge to work out the gene mutations that lead to neurodegeneration in LCH.

I am setting an ambitious target and hope together we can do it.

Thank you.