My Story

If you knew my dad, Gino, you would know that he absolutely lived for the golf course. When a small lump on the side of his head started to affect the vision in his right eye (which affected his short game ⛳) he went in for a routine check-up. He was diagnosed with stage 4 Prostate Cancer in 2012. Thanks to the work of some great doctors, nurses, and caregivers, my dad's life was pretty much normal for around 2 years after this whilst he went through successful hormone therapy. However, the dark cloud over our heads was that we knew this hormone therapy would eventually stop working. We knew that eventually we'd need to take on the battle with chemotherapy. Sadly, he was later diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Whilst my dad fought like a lion, he eventually lost his battle with the disease in October 2015.

Throughout his diagnosis and fight with Prostate Cancer, I spent a lot of time researching the disease. Part of me felt extremely frustrated that a form of the disease (that is often easiest to treat and cure when diagnosed early) had caught us off guard. There was no time to feel guilty about that though. Since then, I've made it my mission every single year to do something to raise awareness and/or funds for Cancer. This year, I'm running London Marathon in support of Worldwide Cancer Research - their mission is to back and fund the work of incredible scientists all over the world who are developing innovative new ways to fight cancer. 

"Our vision is to see a day when no life is cut short by cancer. For me, this sums up what most of us fear about cancer. The fear of losing time or a life that we really should have had. This includes the way cancer turns lives completely upside down."