I ♥ Motherhood: Cancer Research UK

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Race for Life 2013 - Support Me to Raise Some Dough

BRIOCHE PASQUIER UK LAUNCHES FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT CANCER RESEARCH UK’S RACE FOR LIFE

This year Brioche Pasquier UK, French Family Bakers since 1936, are supporting Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. The new champion sponsor of Race for Life hopes to raise £15,000 to help fund vital research to beat over 200 types of cancer, as well as offering up to £10,000 worth of free child entry vouchers in the lead-up to race days throughout the UK.

Me, back in 1999, before my first Race for Life in Cardiff!

I will be running Race for Life in Guildford at the end of May and I'm really looking forward to it. I first ran Race for Life in 1999 in Cardiff with my best friend as that's where she lived at the time. It was a great event then - I looked back in my diary to that day and my comment about it was that I was breathing like Darth Vader by the end of it - my fitness is not so great now, so they'll be no change there then this year! Since then I've taken part 6 times and I've loved it everytime. There is such a feeling of cameraderie and that everyone is in it together. I was first inspired to run as my Grandfather had passed away from a form of bone cancer and it was my way of trying to do something positive in his memory. Since then in 2009 my Dad was diagnosed with Myeloma and other family members have also suffered, most recently my wonderful Nan who is about to be treated in the next couple of weeks. So you see it affects a lot of people and it's the work of Cancer Research UK that helps to keep the likes of my Dad and Nan surviving. This year I'll be running the race with both of them first and foremost in my mind. If you fancy sponsoring me then you can do so at

https://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/sharondonnelly0/

If everyone I know sponsored me a teeny tiny £1 it would be fantastic! I've been very lucky to be sponsored by the Race Sponsors at Brioche Pasquier to the tune of £250, so any more on top of that would be amazeballs.

Brioche Pasquier have got two fantastic Race for Life promotions that are worth checking out:

The first of the promotions, ‘Run with Your Mum’ packs, hit shelves recently in leading supermarkets and will be included on the filled brioche range. The initiative is to encourage up to 1,000 mums to run with their children by covering the £10 entry fee for the child.

The second promotion, ‘Raise Some Dough’, which runs throughout June and July gives customers the opportunity to win donations of up to £100 to send to friends or family taking part in a Race for Life event through their JustGiving page - or alternatively they can simply donate to the Brioche Pasquier Race for Life team.

At over 200 Race for Life events this summer, Brioche Pasquier UK will also be rewarding every participant crossing the finish line with a sample from PITCH, its filled brioche range. In addition, Brioche Pasquier will be hosting a variety of exciting experiential activities across 10 events, enhancing the overall race day experience for participants and their families.

If you fancy entering Race for Life, enter now at www.raceforlife.org or via the hotline on 0845 600 6050. The entry fee is £14.99 for adults and £10 for girls 16 and under. This covers the costs of staging the event series and means that money raised in sponsorship can go to help beat cancer. Events take place across the UK from May until the end of September

Facts about Race for Life

· Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life is the UK’s largest women-only event series that helps raise vital funds to help beat cancer

· Since Race for Life started in 1994, an incredible six million participants have raised over £493million, more than any other UK event series raising money to fund cancer research

· Race for Life raises money that goes towards beating over 200 types of cancer affecting both men and women

Facts About Cancer Research UK

· Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research
The charity’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.

· Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated

Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years

Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses

Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Thursday, 4 November 2010

The Big C

This year I've taken part in 2 events to raise funds for Cancer research and care; Swimathon, raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care and Race for Life, run by Cancer Research UK.

I was happily bumbling away in my pregnancy bubble when I found out my Dad had cancer.

April 2009, I was 6 months along and my Dad was having back trouble. This is all we thought it was and he'd been back and forth to the doctors, been given pain killers, but nothing satisfactory had been done to make him better. He was getting worse until finally during a trip to the doctors he got stuck between some lift doors and he was in agony. An ambulance was called and he was admitted to hospital. From that point onwards his diagnosis came quickly.

I remember the day the consultants told him he had cancer, they came to my Dads ward, closed the curtain around his bed and told us in a matter of fact way that he had Myeloma. I didn't know exactly what this was but I knew it was cancer and from that point on, I think I only heard random words that were being said. I felt like I was underwater and my ears were blocked. The only other word I heard was 'incurable'. I also felt like this wasn't really happening to our family, I wanted them to take it back, it seemed wrong that we were in a ward surrounded with other patients and a flimsy curtain was being used to shield others from the worst news I'd ever heard.

From that point onwards treatment started, oral chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stem cell transplant, further chemotherapy. It was a long slog for my Dad, and my Mum was holding everything together while he spent a long while in the hospital. I got quite aquainted with the hospital, as apart from visiting Dad I was having my ante-natal checks there too. Quite often I'd couple a midwife appointment with a trip up the stairs to see Dad.

I found it really hard to keep my feelings in check all the time, I was heavily pregnant, getting extremely tired, working full time and wishing all the time that this wasn't happening. I couldn't believe that life could deal such a cruel blow when we were meant to be having the best year, with not just one grand-daughter on the way but another one too, as my sister was expecting as well. My mood swings were terrible, one minute crying uncontrollably, the next happy and I didn't want to crack in front of people (I saved this for my poor husband). I would feel guilty and selfish for feeling sorry for myself as afterall it wasn't me that was ill, was it!

Since those first really awful months in 2009, we've obviously had our baby, my sister has had her baby and my Dad has his illness under control according the specialists, so life is good and looking so much more positive. The babies in the family have really helped to lighten everyone up, especially my Dad, he loves to see them and I love to see him with them too. He inspired me to fundraise this year and I feel proud that in total I raised £850 with my combined swimming and running efforts. It's so important to support these charities as Cancer affects most of us at some point in our lives.