I am participating in the Paris Half Marathon on the 3rd March 2023. I'm nervous and excited to be taking part in this. It marks the final few days of my time here in Paris as part of my year abroad, and I'm looking forward for this personal challenge but also the opportunity for me to raise money for a cause that I really care about.

The Royal Marsden is a world-leading cancer centre that provides some of the best care and develops life-saving treatments used around the world. By supporting this charity, we can ensure that nurses, doctors and research teams have access to state-of-the-art equipment and groundbreaking research to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

This summer, I took my dad to the brand new Oak Cancer Centre, which was built and fully funded by the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. He was going for his routine monthly MRI and consultation, which can always be a nerve-wracking day, but from the minute we stepped into the hospital we felt at ease - staff were chatting to us, we spoke to a young volunteer who had also gone through cancer herself and recovered, and the environment overall put patients and their families totally at ease.

It is so important for charities like this to receive funding. The level of attention and care that the Royal Marsden has provided my dad has been incredible, and they have made him feel comfortable every step of the way. Moreover, they have really guided my family and made a difficult situation much easier. My family has received counseling from the kind and experienced team, and my mum and little sister have found comfort in the Maggie Centre. Unfortunately in the case of my dad, who suffers from a Stage 4 glioblastoma, there is no hope of a cure coming up any time soon. However, I hope that donations to the charity can help the research team continue with their hard work so that one day glioblastomas are treatable.

My dad has always shown his gratitude to the staff at the Royal Marsden, bringing them donuts as a thank you after finishing a round of radiotherapy. As his health now declines and he finds it more difficult to show how grateful he is through these gestures, it's very much down to me, my mum and sister to keep raising awareness and expressing our gratitude to the hospital, which I know we will keep doing for years to come.

So please donate if you can, even a little bit helps! The fact that the entire Oak Cancer Centre (one of the nicest hospitals ever, looked more like a fancy hotel !) was built from the charity's funding really goes to show how impactful these donations are.

Thank you, and wish me luck on my training so I can actually complete this run! 🤞