On the 25th August 2012 I will begin to walk the El Camino De Santiago with a good friend of mine, Matt 'Hench' Taylor.  The walk is a modern day pilgrimage of 864km from St Jean in France to Santiago in Western Spain.

I am hoping to raise awareness of Mantle Cell Lymphoma and raise as much money as I can for the Mantle Cell Lymphoma trials unit at Plymouth Hospital.

A very dear friend of mine Steve Richardson recently lost his dad John to the cancer at the age of 57, only 3 months after being diagnosed. He was a huge Newcastle United fan so the English translation - the Way of St. James - is particularly fitting.

What is Mantle Cell Lymphoma?

Mantle cell is a rare non hogkins lymphoma (NHL) cancer that affects the lymphatic system. When you have lymphoma some of your white blood cells don't work properly, so they can't fight infection as normal white blood cells do.  Only about 5 out of every 100 people (5%) diagnosed with NHL have mantle cell lymphoma. It mainly affects men who are over 50 and unfortunately it is often widespread when it is diagnosed.

Treatment for mantle cell lymphoma is similar to treatment for other types of NHL but it is difficult to cure. It is an aggressive disease and often comes back relatively soon after you get it into remission.

Unfortuately, John did not reach remission. The cancer had spread to his brain and whilst in hospital for routine treatment, he suffered a brain hemorrhage. At 07.15 on 28th February 2012 he died surrounded by his family. 

A word from Steve:

"My dad was a hero to his family and friends and although nothing will ever bring him back, we would like to help in some way to raise awareness of this particular form of cancer. Obviously many, many forms of cancer affect families every day but these rarer forms recieve very little attention and fewer funds towards research and treatments. 

If we can contribute in some way to there being a successful form of treatment that will prolong the life of someone else one day, then it may help to ease the pain our sudden loss.

We would like to thank Nick for adopting our cause in his journey."

 

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.