Steven and Lisa are running the Manchester half-marathon for Cancer Research UK

We're raising as much as we can to beat cancer

Story

Two years ago, our daughter Isabelle got a scary diagnosis of leukaemia. Thanks to the wonderful care she’s had from the NHS, her future looks positive. But it’s been a rough ride. Two weeks after starting chemotherapy, the harsh effect of the drugs on her immune system caused her to go into septic shock and into a coma. After leaving ICU, it took 4 months for her to learn to speak, sit and walk again and come home. During the rest of her 2 1/2 years of treatment, Izzy has had 15 more admissions to the ward and never had a week without a hospital appointment. In addition to well-known side effects like poor immunity, sickness, fatigue and hair loss, chemotherapy also causes damage to nerves leading to constant pain, movement issues and jaw pain. We are raising money for research into kinder, faster cancer treatments with fewer side effects, so patients don’t just survive cancer but can continue to live almost normal lives. Neither of us have ever run anywhere near this far, but if Izzy can learn to walk again, we can put one foot in front of the other and run 13.1 miles around Manchester on 15th October 😀 We would be so grateful for your sponsorship and messages of support!