Queen Alexandra hospital, Portsmouth

A month ago I was devastated to discover that my brother Malcolm had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Malcolm is 4 years older than me and has always been the sporty, thrill seeking member of the family so as the younger brother I have always considered him to be untouchable.

He has never smoked but discovered a lump on his neck that seemed to be getting more noticeable so decided to have it checked out. He eventually learned that a minor viral infection had triggered throat cancer and is now just one of the countless individuals who has to undergo extensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment everyday at QA hospital in Portsmouth. Unfortunately throat cancer treatment can be quite brutal and he has had a string of ‘worst case scenario’ sessions from the doctors to prepare him early on which has been hard to take.

For my Christmas present last year, Malcolm’s wife Lorri entered me in for the Great South Run along with the 2 of them. I hadn't given this run any more thought and assumed that it was all a bit of a right-off until she mentioned recently that Malcolm was keen for us to go ahead with it. So we've decided to do it as a fundraiser for the oncology unit at Portsmouth hospitals where Malcolm is being treated. It seems that every other member of my extended family works for the NHS so we are all big supporters of everything they do.

Whilst this run should hopefully be quite manageable (famous last words) it will be an emotional day, especially for Lorri and their two boys so your support would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Andrew

Do you want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money in aid of Portsmouth Hospitals Charity and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Portsmouth Hospitals Charity: We are Portsmouth Hospital Charity who serve all of Portsmouth hospitals and its community