In May 2014 my sister Kat, who had just turned 30, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She had experienced 6 months of symptoms, including a cough, weight loss and night sweats, and after lots of tests, doctors, x-rays, scans and a biopsy, Kat found out she had cancer.

At the point of diagnosis, Kat had dropped to 45kgs and was very unwell. She immediately started R-Chop chemotherapy and whilst not completely successful, after 6 rounds it had helped to shrink the cancer. Kat also lost her hair at this point.

Kat then had another biopsy under general anaesthetic where they found that she also had Hodgkin Lymphoma. This meant Kat had a rare grey zone lymphoma where both Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma are present making treatment more complicated.

Kat then had a PICC line put in and started another type of chemo, DHAP, which was unsuccessful, followed by Brentuximab which was also unsuccessful. Following months of failed chemotherapies, Kat was put on her 4th type – Mini-BEAM. She was an inpatient for 6 days at a time and lost her hair again but, after 2 rounds, on 25th March 2015 her PET scan showed that she had a complete response to the chemo and the cancer had gone. Something none of us, including Kat’s consultant, was expecting.

This meant that Kat was now a candidate for a stem cell transplant. Kat needed the transplant to replace the damaged cells, from months of failed chemotherapies, with healthy ones.

The best chance for a stem cell match comes from a fully matched sibling because of the shared genetic makeup from parents. There is a 1 in 4 chance of your cells matching. If no siblings match, the search expands to family members for a half-match or a donor on the global stem cell donor registry.

I was tested straight away, and we were super lucky that I was a stem cell match for Kat 😊

So, both Kat and I had full health MOTs to ensure we were both healthy enough to undergo the transplant, and Kat was admitted to hospital on 9th April to prep for it. She had extremely strong chemo to destroy all the unhealthy cells, but it also killed off her immune system, causing lots of pain and discomfort. However, on the 16th April the stem cell transplant successfully went ahead. Kat was discharged on the 1st May 2015, having spent 3 weeks in isolation in hospital.

It was a tough road to recovery, but Kat has now lived 10 years cancer free, and she has a beautiful life full of adventure and fun. I still have my sister, and Kat got to meet my daughter who was born in 2018.

I have chosen to run the London Marathon 2026 (my first ever marathon!) for Anthony Nolan because Kat’s stem cell transplant helped save her life.

Not everyone that needs a transplant will have a sibling, or a sibling match, which is why the stem cell donor registry and the work that Anthony Nolan do is so important.

Anthony Nolan is the pioneering charity that unites people and science to make lifesaving connections - matching stem cell donors to those in need of transplants and treatments and growing their world-leading stem cell register, so everyone can find the match they need.

Thank you for sponsoring me – I’m super grateful for your support 😊

You can find out more about Anthony Nolan and their amazing work here - https://www.anthonynolan.org/