A Sad Week.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that this week we have sadly lost David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Both to cancer, both carried on and kept it quiet until they'd passed.  Last year I watched Jackie Collins do an interview on Thursday, the following Monday she died of cancer.  Lemmy of Motorhead was diagnosed with cancer on Boxing day and died 3 days later.  I could go on but I'll be here all year.  Each one was great in their field. They were well respected, talented people as well as being way too young to die.

They say we're winning the fight against cancer but it doesn't feel like it!  I've lost family members and friends to cancer, each time I think we're a step closer to a total cure but, this time, I feel like we're further away than ever and that's a devastating thought.

I lost my Great Nan and Great Aunt to breast cancer before I was 10 years old.  I then watched Teri's friend die when she was 8 years old.  That was nearly 20 years later.  I convinced myself it was a rare type and that's why in 20 years so little had been learned.  Well, it's 10 years on and guess what? We STILL don't have the answers!

Don't get me wrong, we know loads about breast cancer and your chances of surviving it are pretty high.  The same can't be said of Pancreatic, Ovarian, Neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers.  Why is that when so much is given to Cancer Research and similar charities?  It's because most of the money goes to Breast Cancer research.

Out of all the money given to research cancer only 7% goes towards Childhood cancers and 20% goes to Pancreatic.  Your chances of surviving Pancreatic cancer is 5%!!  So pretty much nil.  Yet so little goes towards research.  I've lost 2 family members to it since 2011 so surely that means it's not a rare cancer?? Or is it and we're just unlucky?  Before anyone asks the two people weren't related so it wasn't genetic. As for Childhood Neuroblastoma, Teri has lost 3 friends to it so again that can't be rare yet only 7% is given towards it!

Sadly there is nothing we can do to change the way the money is distributed, so the only option is to give more money so the 20% and 7% is larger that last year.  

One way you can do this is by sponsoring Teri, Beth and myself.  We're doing the Race For Life in May.  Beth and Teri are planning on running it, I'm walking it!  It's a way I can give back and try and help research so no one has to go through the heartache we've been through.  

So please sponsor us, share the page, get friends to sponsor us and even race yourself!  Every penny you give is a finger to cancer.  It says we won't let you win, we won't let you take our loved ones and we will NEVER back down.

Thanks x

Click here to go to our team sponsorship page!