The Carl Stanley 3 Peak Challenge.

In July 2013 my son in law, Carl Stanley, was diagnosed with a benign grade 2 brain tumour, an astrocytoma in his right temporal lobe to be precise. He underwent surgery to remove as much as possible in August 2013 and we hoped that would be the end of it. However, this wasn't to be and in August 2015 it returned. He completed 6 weeks of intensive radiotherapy in November/December 2015, only to be told on the 19th July 2017 that the tumour had progressed and it now looked like it was a grade 3 and so now malignant.  He underwent a second, very risky, craniatomy on the 24th July and this will be followed by ongoing chemotherapy, but we have been made aware that this will only delay the spread of this terrible life threatening illness.

We are aware of a pioneering technology (Cyberknife) that is available in this country and could give Carl a fighting chance of long term survival when the chemotherapy drugs are no longer effective. However, this treatment is not currently widely available via the NHS and therefore we need to start preparing to pay for this ourselves right now. The cost is estimated to be in the region of £100,000 for the five treatments that he could require. With any luck this treatment may not be needed for a number of years but it could be at any time and we need to be prepared for any outcome. If the cost of treatment is less than what is raised then any excess funds will be donated to the Brain Tumour Charity for continued research into this devastating disease.

Carl is married to my daughter Donna and a loving father to my two grandchildren Olivia and Zac. Olivia has just finished her first year of primary school, with Zac joining her in September, and our aim is to ensure Carl is around for as long as possible to see his 2 precious children grow up.

Over the coming months myself and the rest of his friends and family will be aiming to raise as much as we can towards his future treatment costs, whether it be Cyberknife or any other treatments that become available, starting with me completing the "Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge" on September 6th 2017. This involves climbing the three highest peaks in Yorkshire with a total ascent of over 5,200 feet and a distance of 24 miles. The challenge is to do this in under twelve hours if at all possible! At 66 years of age it WILL be a challenge but I am confident I can manage it. Please give as much as you can. Thank you for reading. Allan