I wanted to do something that would challenge me for a good cause and so I decided to raise money for Trekstock charity who do an incredibly important job with young cancer sufferers and raised £530 by either cycling, running and walking 500km in 50 days. I managed to achieve it in 34 days! On one day I ended up cycling 100km - that was very tough!
I was inspired to do this challenge for Trekstock after hearing the inspiring story of our lovely family friend Emma Smith, who, at 19, was on her gap year in Australia when she was tragically diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Emma says ...
"Just as I was starting the “fun” part of my gap year, I was hit with a very surprising diagnosis in the middle of my Australian travels. I was told I had non-Hodgkins Lymphoma; a type of blood cancer. Lymphoma is actually the most common cancer in 15-24yr olds, and I was 19 at the time.
During the time between then and now I have been treated with a few different types of cancer treatment and have thankfully come out the other side just recently after a rather bumpy ride. There have been many various supports along the way which have made coping with the lifestyle change, health changes and medical ventures easier, and one of them has been, and still is, Trekstock. For me the most beneficial aspect of this relatively-new charity for cancer patients between 20-39 is the facebook groups run by them. These have made me see that others are going through all the same issues too, whereas before I discovered Trekstock I felt quite alone in how I was feeling - a common issue in young cancer patients.
More things Trekstock run are fitness/yoga support videos and meetings, meet-up events and interesting talks, and a free year’s subscription to Headspace. I’ve found that compared to other charities they are somehow more casual and real about dealing with cancer, and they completely rely on donations."
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