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Some of you will already know how my family's life changed this summer. Our fab family holiday in Norfolk ended abruptly when I became ill. When I got home, in a matter of days it was confirmed that I had a 9cm tumour on my small bowel. Soon afterwards I found another tumour on the side of my neck. Naturally, I feared the worst and we accelerated the scans and biopsies. My wife Jennifer was an extraordinary support through all of this. My diagnosis which I received last Thursday was that I had a type of lymphoma that can respond well to chemotherapy. I started chemotherapy on Friday. I have six months of treatment ahead of me.

I am sure most if not all of you have been exposed to cancer in some aspect of your life as it is hard not to be. As I said I am one of the lucky ones. I lost my perfect mother when I was barely a teen to cancer and she was only 55 and in 2010 I lost my wonderful brother, Gerard, at an even younger age. Jennifer, Ruth and Anne lost their incredible father to cancer in 2006. One sibling of mine is currently undergoing treatment for cancer. Thankfully two other siblings of mine are currently successfully in recovery at this time thanks to effective treatment in the last 12 months.

Research has produced the results which has allowed me to have these chemicals which are helping me and others to fight cancer. Hopefully continued research will allow me and others to remain in remission for as long as possible and to help find cures for other types of cancer. 

So now I have decided I would like to use this opportunity to raise some money towards cancer research. I am contacting friends from many countries but I am proposing to give people the choice of donation to one or both of two cancer research organisations in Ireland and the UK.

So I am reaching out to you all to see if you will support my fund raising efforts. I am not doing a triathalon, although I would love to be up running up the Wicklow Hills right now. I am simply going to shave my head. Well actually my kids aged 4, 6, 9 and 11 are going to shave it. This isn't much of a sacrifice at all as I am going to lose it anyway so to liven up the proposition and to add some glamour to it my two gorgeous sister-in-laws (Anne Kennedy & Ruth Forsyth) are going to have their kids shave off their mums impeccably groomed heads of hair at the same time. I cant thank them enough for the support. They are also going to help me promote it and raise funds.

I can't tell you what date we will do it on as it will depend upon when I get out of hospital and subsequent chemo days and so forth but I hope to do it within the next three weeks.

We will record the event and send it to you all as proof and will keep fund raising open until the end of September. Thanks in advance to Henson Inc. Production for the filming. 

I realise that you all are probably being tapped up for all kinds of fun runs and iron man/woman at work all the time and its hard to fund it all and equally I realise that you will have your own philanthropic and charitable plans that you have spent time choosing and pursuing but even if you can contribute the price of a coffee or a lunch it would be greatly appreciated.

There are two pages you can choose to donate to either or both; play date with razors (Irish Cancer Society) or play date with razors (Cancer Research UK).

I hope to be healthy, hairy and able to thank you all in person at some point in the future for supporting this.

I really, really appreciate your support in this; it means a great deal.


All our love and best wishes



Adrian & Jennifer O'Carroll, Anne Kennedy and Ruth Forsyth