Thank you for reading my just giving page. I’m taking part in a 2 mile swim in the Serpentine on Saturday 19th September to raise money for a charity close to mine and my partners hearts.

In June last year my partner Debbie was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. This came as a huge shock as she’s always been a non smoker and the only symptom she had was a mild cough which did not go away. The type of cancer she has is rare, accounting for only 2-3% of diagnosed lung cancer cases. It is called ALK+ and is caused by a gene mutation.

Debbie has undergone 3 surgeries since diagnosis, the first removing part of her lung, the second to drain infected fluid from her lung and the third to repair a damaged vocal cord. She is now on targeted therapy.

Debbie’s family, friends and work colleagues have, of course, been amazingly supportive throughout but she has also found huge support from the ALK+ charity. They provide kindness, friendship, support and most importantly, hope. Since finding them, we no longer felt alone in this journey and found much comfort, information and support from her fellow ‘ALKies’

The charity strives to make awareness of ALK+ across the medical profession so that patients receive the best treatment and standard of care.

My fundraiser is therefore to give back something to this amazing charity and if you are able to make even just a small donation, Debbie and I would be hugely grateful.

Thank you