Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

"Done a few of these over time but never have I found it so hard or hesitant to author this page or share this story. Apols in advance this may not seem succinct.

After becoming progressively unwell during this summer the amazing NHS kicked swiftly into action in September. By early November I had been diagnosed with a tumour on one my kidneys and the lymph system looked to be compromised.

There was early signs back in August '21 when I had purple pee due to internal bleeding. The GP treated me for a water infection which was the most obvious course of action. My advice is to insist on getting a scan if you get this symptom. Early detection can avoid cancer metastasis (moving to other parts of the body). Later on symptoms included severe fatigue every now and again which became more frequent, loss of appetite and unexpected weight loss.

Early December seen a fantastic surgeon successfully remove both the kidney and local lymph nodes and I write this now a week later with sole intention to get strong and be ready for the next chapter in my story.

Although we had been originally told I had cancer, my consultant says it's about 90% likely to be the case and the stuff removed will go to lab to confirm what type of tumour/cancer have (or had if luck is on our side). There is a 3 month wait now until my next scan so I can recover and build up strength. So as Spring '23 approaches my family will find out whether I will just need regular scans or start radiotherapy/immunotherapy to address the lymph system and anything else that needs to sod off!

My plan for the.now; having done 38 park runs to date, I want to get to 50 before I get my next scan and updated diagnosis. So that's it really, 12x 5km runs by end of March. I can just about get down the stairs now so that gives a bit of scale to the challenge set.

Everyone is skint so as never before, if you can spare a quid or 2, my appreciation would be huge.

Let's do disclaimers:

Is this a selfless act? No, I need every motivation available right now to get my arse in gear, get fitter and tackle whatever lies ahead.

Is this attention seeking? Absolutely! I want to use my situation to be exploited for the benefit of an amazing charity and to raise awareness to the symptoms of Kidney cancer.

Why Marie Curie? Having to ensure wills, expression of wishes, funeral plans, insurances etc etc are in place has made me appreciate the amazing work that they do.

Thank you for reading all of this"

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.