Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

I will be running the London Marathon in April 2016 to raise money for the UCL Cancer Institute Research Trust and in support of two friends – Finn and Clair – who have each had to confront cancer.

Clair is one of my oldest and closest friends. We’ve known each other since the age of 5. We grew up in Zimbabwe together. We went to school there together. We lived in London together. We were bridesmaids at each other’s weddings.

Clair lost her mum to breast cancer and her cousin to ovarian cancer. In January 2013 she was tested for the BRAC1 gene. The result was positive, indicating she was at higher risk of familial breast or ovarian cancer. She underwent an extended and exhausting period of testing, consultation and treatment, culminating in an oophorectomy and then a bilateral mastectomy in April 2014. During recovery from these procedures, Clair’s medical team told her they had found a tumour. She underwent a CT scan and a third operation in the space of a month to perform a node biopsy. Although the cancer had not metastasised, she received the devastating news that adjuvant chemotheraphy was advised as a precaution. Several long months of increasingly debilitating treatment followed, including admission to an isolation ward for severe neutropenia.

Clair’s treatment finished in September 2014 and she remains cancer free today. Genetic research was fundamental to Clair’s early diagnosis and the success of her treatment: the lump which was discovered during her mastectomy was too deep to be detected by a physical exam; she is too young to qualify for routine mammograms; and an MRI scan prior to her operation revealed no signs of breast cancer.

Finn is one of my youngest and newest friends. I’ve known him since he and his brother started school with my two sons. He is a typically energetic and sparkly little boy who loves all things Minecraft, Star Wars and Lego.

In November 2014, Finn’s family noticed some small lumps on his scalp. They grew rapidly over the following weeks. On Christmas Eve his family received the shattering news that he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Treatment started immediately. The first seven months were a near continuous onslaught of drugs, blood draws and dressing changes, over 20 intravenous chemotherapies, constant accessing via needle of the port-a-cath which has been surgically placed in his chest, 5 blood and 2 platelet transfusions, general anaesthetics and lumbar punctures (he has had 11 so far), chemotherapy injections into the muscles in his leg, 3 bone marrow aspirations, X-rays, ultra-sound, echo and CT scans, hospital stays, and huge quantities of steroids. In the early months he was in so much pain he couldn’t walk and his mobility and strength are still affected.

Finn is currently in the least intense but longest phase of the treatment cycle. He’s now able to attend school. He is making new friends and trying to live as normal a life as possible. His cheery disposition and cheeky grin belie his unrelenting treatment regime: weekly blood tests to monitor things like immunity, haemoglobin and platelet levels and to adjust his chemotherapy doses; daily and weekly doses of oral chemotherapy given at home; weekend antibiotics to prevent pneumonia; monthly intravenous chemotherapy given at hospital and accompanied by a week of steroids; a three-monthly lumbar puncture under general anaesthetic to inject chemotherapy into his central nervous system and to test his spinal fluid to make sure there are no lurking leukaemia cells.

Finn was only three years old when he was diagnosed. His treatment regime will continue into 2018 and he will have to be closely monitored until after his 7th birthday. By this point he is likely to have had over 200 blood tests, over 1,250 doses of chemotherapy, 21 lumbar punctures and been on steroids for the equivalent of 8 months. He will have a compromised immune system for six months after his treatment ends. He will need to have surgery to remove his port-a-cath. And then he will need to have all of his childhood immunisations again, as the treatment renders them ineffective. Regular check-ups will continue for years, until the point at which the risk of relapse is negligible. But there are also significant potential long-term complications and risks which could affect him forever. Continued research into effective alternative treatments which have less harmful and long-term side effects will make a huge difference to kids with ALL and other childhood cancers, which is why the work of places like UCL is so critical.


I am running the marathon for Finn and Clair to raise money for UCL Cancer Institute Research Trust, which funds the UCL Cancer Institute. This is one of the world's foremost cancer research facilities, drawing together hundreds of scientists. Please help me to support them. By sponsoring me, you will be funding their ongoing quest to understand genetic cancers, and to translate research discoveries into better, more effective treatments and outcomes with less harmful and long-term implications for cancer patients.

Please follow my blog for more details and updates:

www.marathonmusings.com