3:14pm Wednesday 28th January 2009
By James Morley-Smith
I am not a seasoned runner. I am not a member of a running club.
I have run a little in the past but I have never run a marathon before, or in fact any distance race. Despite all this, on April 26th, 2009 I will be lining up with 30,000 other men and women in Blackheath, just south of the river Thames, to take part in the Flora London Marathon.
You may wonder why I am doing this, but in my opinion I have one of the most compelling reasons possible.
I am running because my youngest son, Fintan, of only 19 months, has a rare form of cancer called Retinoblastoma (Rb).
You may have read about him in a recent article in the Bucks Free Press and Midweek.
Fintan was diagnosed at only 4 months old and since then has undergone chemotherapy, cryotherapy and most recently radiotherapy to treat the tumours which are growing on the retinas of both his eyes.
It is difficult to tell right now exactly how badly Fintan's vision has been affected by this disease, but he is getting on extremely well with what he has, and surprises us constantly with his ability to find a misplaced raisin or two!
Above all, his spirit has not been faltered in the slightest and he is the most inspiring little boy you could hope to meet.
Retinoblastoma only affects children under the age of five, while their eyes are still rapidly developing. There are only around 40 cases a year in the UK, and due to this, the condition is not widely known about.
My aim in running the marathon is to raise much needed funds for the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, and to raise awareness of the condition so that other parents can spot early signs and get their children treated as early as possible in order to reduce the likelihood of damage to vision or the loss of the eyes.
Did you know, that a “white eye” reflection in a photograph, where normally you would see red, when taken with a flash could well be a sign of tumours growing in the eyes (see example picture).
With this blog, I don’t intend on boring you with essays on cancer. I’ll be giving you little snippets of information. For example: although being fatal if left untreated, Rb is one of the most treatable of all childhood cancers. Something which I have learned since going through this ordeal is that cancer, does not necessarily equal death!
What I do intend on writing about is my experiences and observations whilst training for the big day. Naturally, along the way, I will remind you as to why am putting myself through all this, and may well give you an update on how my little man is getting on.
I hope you enjoy my thoughts. I would also like to hope that you may pass on to someone else what you have learned about eye cancer. You are also very welcome to make comments…I think!
All that remains of course is to ask if you might be kind enough to sponsor me. If you would like to, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/jamesmorleysmith For more information on retinoblastoma, go to www.chect.org.uk, email info@chect.org.uk, or call 020 7377 5578.
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