Last year, I watched my dad go through something that completely changed everything for our family. Hearing the word cancer is terrifying enough, but hearing it about your own dad is something that shatters you in a way you can’t describe. It’s that moment where the world stops, where your heart drops, and you realise life might never be the same again.

It’s hard to understand how something can cause so much damage so quickly. One day he was his usual self, dancing 26 miles around London in a tutu for The Walk, laughing the whole way, raising money for Cancer Research, and then suddenly he was in a hospital bed being told he had a tumour. I remember sitting there, trying to be brave, but feeling completely helpless.

Watching him go through endless tests, the pain, the sleepless nights, and then major surgery was the hardest thing I have ever had to see. There were days when he could barely move, when his smile faded, and all we could do was sit with him and pray. Yet even in his weakest moments, he never stopped fighting. Somehow, he still managed to ask how we were doing. That’s who he is, selfless, strong, and full of love.

Thanks to incredible research, technology, and doctors, especially Mr Goode, his operation was a success. I’ll never forget the phone call when we were told he was cancer-free. In that moment, we got our miracle.

Without that research, I could have been without my dad, and that’s something I will never, ever take for granted.

So this year, I’m running the London Marathon for Bowel Research UK to help fund the same kind of life-saving research that gave my dad his second chance and gave our family more time together.

My dad and Mikhaila ran their marathon last year, showing just how strong and determined they both were. Watching them cross that finish line after everything he’d been through was one of the proudest moments of my life. This year, I’m running mine for him, for everyone still fighting bowel cancer, and for every family still waiting for their miracle.

Every step I take will be for the moments we almost lost. All the tiny, ordinary things that mean everything when you realise how close you came to losing them.

If sharing our story helps even one more person spot the signs early, or one more family get their miracle, then every mile will be worth it.

About the Charity and Why Awareness Matters:

Bowel Research UK funds life-changing research into bowel cancer and other bowel diseases. Every year, over 16,000 people in the UK die from bowel cancer, and over a million suffer from bowel disease.

This charity is the UK’s leading specialist bowel cancer and bowel disease research organisation. Their work is saving and improving lives, including saving my dad’s.

Please take a moment to learn the symptoms and get checked if you notice any of the following:

1. Bleeding from your bottom (it does not have to be a lot)

2. Blood in your poo (even small amounts matter)

3. Changes in how often you poo, or regular diarrhoea or constipation

4. Unexplained weight loss

5. Feeling tired all the time for no clear reason

6. Pain or a lump in your tummy (and if you are bleeding too, it is not a pulled muscle)