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I was supposed to run the London Marathon in 2020 in my wife's memory and to raise funds for Breast Cancer Now. Many people had generously sponsored me before Covid struck and the event was cancelled. I vowed that I would honour my pledge to all those supporters when the time was right. 

That time is 2nd October 2022!

I still intend to start with 26 roses as 19 had already been very generously sponsored and I'm not looking for further sponsorship for these, just the 7 that are left. 

Here to sponsor a rose?

Firstly, thank you.

Please email me your name and message/dedication for the card separately to runningwithroses@yahoo.com

Original story below:

On 31st March 2019 - Mother's Day - my wife, Julie, died. She was only 41, our children were 7 & 10.

Just 22 months earlier Julie had been diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a less common, more aggressive, harder to treat type of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women under 50 in the UK. Every year around 11,500 women die from breast cancer in the UK – that’s one every 45 minutes.

A common misconception is that breast cancer is an older, post menopausal woman's disease and whilst the vast majority of cases are in those aged over 50 around 2,200 women in the UK every year are diagnosed aged 39 or under - 4% of all cases.  Furthermore if you develop breast cancer at a young age, it’s more likely to be triple negative. 

Breast cancer survival is improving and has doubled in the past 40 years in the UK due to a combination of improvements in treatment and care, earlier detection through screening and a focus on targets, including faster diagnosis. But there is still much to do. Less common types of the disease, such as triple negative breast cancer, still don’t have any targeted therapies and consequently five year survival rates are lower.

In 2018 I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Breast Cancer Now. It was my first half marathon and I raised an amazing £2700.

In 2020 I am going a step (well, many steps) further as I have been given a charity place with Breast Cancer Now to run the Virgin Money London Marathon in my wife’s memory.

Everyone sponsored me so generously for the half marathon that I want to do something different to both fundraise for the full marathon and help to raise awareness at the same time.

I will be starting with a bunch of 26 pink roses and handing 1 to a random spectator every 10 minutes of the marathon. These roses represent the 1 woman every 10 minutes in the UK who is diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Every fourth rose, about every 45 minutes, will be extra special as it will also be in memory of the 1 woman every 45 minutes who loses their life to breast cancer - 6 over the course of my predicted marathon time.

Each rose will be sponsored before the marathon for a minimum donation of £25 (individually or in groups) - though I suggest that the 6 “in memory of” special roses are worth a lot more. Each rose sponsor will get to provide their own message/dedication for a card that will be included with the rose to explain who sponsored it and why. The card will also include my own message.

The aim is twofold: to raise funds to support life saving research and to raise awareness that breast cancer can affect anyone at any time.

Here to sponsor a rose?

Firstly, thank you.

Please email me your name and message/dedication for the card separately to runningwithroses@yahoo.com

If you would like to sponsor one of the 6 “in memory of” special roses please check that one is still available with me first though I will try to post regular updates at the foot of this page.

More about Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple negative breast cancer is a relatively uncommon form of breast cancer that is usually more aggressive and harder to treat than other types of breast cancer.

It’s known as triple negative because it lacks three molecules called receptors. All other types of breast cancer have at least one of three receptors: the oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). These receptors are important for passing signals to cancer cells. For example, the hormone oestrogen stimulates the growth of some breast cancer cells through the oestrogen receptor.

Around 15% of all breast cancers – over 8,000 cases a year in the UK – are triple negative.

Why is triple negative breast cancer harder to treat?

Many of the most effective breast cancer treatments work by targeting receptors. For example, the drug trastuzumab kills breast cancer cells by latching onto the HER2 receptor, while tamoxifen works by blocking the oestrogen receptor and stopping oestrogen from stimulating breast cancer cells. Because triple negative cancers lack receptors, it’s not possible to treat them using targeted drugs like these.

Treatment for triple negative breast cancer is therefore limited to surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Because chemotherapy is not as targeted as drugs like trastuzumab and tamoxifen, it can cause significantly more side effects.

Breast Cancer Now is funding research into triple negative breast cancer

We have a dedicated Research Unit at King’s College London, which is the only research unit in the UK focusing solely on understanding triple negative breast cancer and finding better ways to treat it.

Although this research may take some time to reach patients, it’s hoped these projects could lead to new treatment options for people with triple negative breast cancer.

Once again, thank you for your generosity and support.

John 

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