Joshua's Giving Page

I am raising money for CRUK for a couple of reasons. First and foremost because I have seen the effects that cancer can have on lives first hand. I have had two of my grandparents suffer and ultimately lose their battles and a third grandparent who won his battle with cancer and was lucky enough to get another decade with them. More recently a member of my wife's family, an incredible woman who I had great respect and love for, battled through her initial diagnosis. She fought extremely hard and as a result of her fighting got to see and spend time with my eldest son. To see the joy and excitement she had when she got to spend time with him was heart warming and made her subsequent relapse infinitely more difficult. Though she fought bravely she sadly passed before getting to meet my second son. It is obviously very difficult seeing those with cancer go through the treatment and procedures having this terrible disease does to them, but it can be just as difficult seeing the devastation it can have on family members who are watching their loved ones suffer. My brother-in-law, and my sister, have had the heart break of losing both his parents to this disease, sadly losing his mum last year. Seeing them go through the pain of saying goodbye and the suffering they had to endure watching their loved ones battle cancer, makes me realise that we are still a long way from helping those I care about and others across the country from fighting this disease. I said at the start there were a couple of reasons, the first being personal, the second is professional. I work for the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, a CRUK supported trials unit. It wasn't a career that I ever thought I would find myself in but one I fell into 12 years ago and have never looked back. The work that CRUK do and the funding that they provide to Clinical Trials Unit, like the one I work for, helps dedicated clinicians and trial teams to deliver potentially life changing research to patients that suffer from cancer. I have worked first hand on studies ranging from initial diagnosis through to trials that could be the last chance for patients. My work has shown me the importance of continuing to support charities like CRUK and how the work they fund helps to continue pushing us forward to find cures for those that really need it. I know that with the cost of living things are tight but if you are able to donate to my page today and help bring forward the day when all cancers are cured it would be greatly appreciated.