26 years ago a doctor told me that my daughter had neuroblastoma, a form of cancer that mainly affects babies and younger children. Like most people in that situation I'd never heard of the disease. I learned a lot more as she was treated and recovered, especially that survival rates remained poor, treatment options were limited, and very little research was going on to improve things.

All this drew me to become involved with Neuroblastoma UK and to start what's now over 20 years as a Trustee, working to raise funding for research, campaign for increased government funding, and raise awareness of the disease among clinicians and the wider public. We've seen some important developments but we must make faster progress towards treatments that help children with high-risk disease to be cured. The only way this will happen is through intensive research.

It's incredibly satisfying and fulfilling to take part in allocating funding to talented and dedicated research scientists, and incredibly frustrating that we can't do more. So I'm now coming back to the fundraising and pounding the streets of the London Landmarks Half Marathon route, and hoping that you can support me and this important cause.