In the space of eight days each August we have what would have been mum and dad's birthdays, and on today August the 29th it's the anniversary of mum's death. She died two years ago from bowel cancer, having been diagnosed in 2012. Obviously bereavement affects us all in different ways, and some days are better than others. It's a time to raise a glass to mum (probably a cup of PG Tips) and allow myself some quiet reflection.
One thing that I have aspired to do over the last couple of years is to live for the moment as much as possible, and although it is still very much work in progress, I can look back on some pretty amazing things. The new fundraising book, The Record, is entering its final stages now. I have decided to give myself until the end of the year to do as many more meetings with people as possible, and then draw a line under it. The plan will be to try and publish the book in the first half of 2019. It's been a remarkable journey full of amazing, and wonderful experiences that I am excited about sharing. Sales of the current book, Lives & Times, and the t-shirts, art, wristbands etc have continued to go well, and have now raised over £4000 for Bowel Cancer UK. The recent skydive was a phenomenal success raising another £2000 for the charity, and I confronted my real fear of heights head on. I have recently set up a store on ETSY to sell everything, but I am still hoping to get a new website, so if anyone can help me with setting up a small eCommerce website please get in touch.
Away from the fundraising I managed to get away to North Wales for a long weekend at the beginning of the year to see The Alarm, where I met up with so many wonderful friends, who have been wonderful supporters too. I then made my first ever trip to New York in May, once again to see The Alarm, and made many new friendships there too. In fact one of the positives to come out of sadness is the way I am slowly coming out of my shell, and being open to making new friendships. Not an easy thing for someone inherently shy.
I took this photo of Mum in Cornwall in 2012, not long after her diagnosis, and just before she started to chemo and radiotherapy to shrink the tumour in her bowel prior to surgery. She was down there with friends for a holiday, and I had to do a rush drive down there to collect her for a hastily arranged appointment. These are the images of Mum that I love to remember. She had bowel cancer for four and a half years, and for pretty much all of that time this was typical mum, very happy, living her life to the full, and not allowing cancer to define it. And not forgetting that glass of wine 😊 xx
I still miss mum, and she remains my inspiration for my fundraising, and efforts to raise awareness about bowel cancer, which is the second highest cancer killer in the UK with 16,000 deaths each year. 41,000 people are diagnosed each year, and if detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. This figure drops to 7% when diagnosis is at the later stage 4. The key is to raise awareness and improve early detection rates. At the moment only 15% of patients are diagnosed at the early stage 1 phase, which gives them that best chance of surviving five years or more. I very much support Bowel Cancer UK, and their hope for a future when no-one dies of bowel cancer.
I still miss mum, and she remains my inspiration for my fundraising, and efforts to raise awareness about bowel cancer, which is the second highest cancer killer in the UK with 16,000 deaths each year. 41,000 people are diagnosed each year, and if detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. This figure drops to 7% when diagnosis is at the later stage 4. The key is to raise awareness and improve early detection rates. At the moment only 15% of patients are diagnosed at the early stage 1 phase, which gives them that best chance of surviving five years or more. I very much support Bowel Cancer UK, and their hope for a future when no-one dies of bowel cancer.
