Normally when I do these things, it's not for a personal reason, but just as something to do and to help out a bit while doing it. Sadly this time, that's not the case.

Around a month ago, my dad was diagnosed with cancer in his lungs, lymph nodes and stomach. It was a huge shock, you never expect it to hit someone you love so close to home.

Thankfully he's already received his first round of treatment, and he's been doing well. Any who knows him won't be surprised to hear he's dealing with it in the only way I've know him to deal with anything, with immense strength and a positive attitude.

And lots and lots of dad jokes.

Anyone who has had a family member hit with Cancer will know that you want to help in anyway you can, but the sad truth is there's not much you can do directly, besides being strong for them, and providing as much support as possible.

However we can also help by raising money for the charities who are working their butts off to not only support people like my dad by providing 24 hour speciality nurses, support and assistance, but also the people working to develop new tests and treatments. Without these new treatments, there's a strong chance the news would not have been so positive for my dad, so it's unsurprising that when I asked, he wanted us to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Wanting to help continue their work to find new and better treatments for people in the future who have to deal with this horrible illness.

So my wife, best mate and I are aiming to complete a 50KM hike in a single day as part of the Thames Path Challenge to try and raise as much as we can. Please dig deep for this great cause and together we can help to keep pushing cancer into extinction.

Cheers,

Paul