#Sponsor me and you’ll help me achieve so much!

Today, 34 Australians will get the news they have blood cancer. That's another 34 reasons to support the Leukaemia Foundation's work – providing practical and emotional support to people facing the challenge of blood cancer, as well as investing in vital research to find better treatments and cures. Across Australia, 60,000 people are going through this in right now - please sponsor me and help me reach my goal.

I am embarking on an ambitious fundraising journey, climbing 5,895m of the mighty Kilimanjaro to raise $20,000 that will help fund the Leukaemia Foundation to give families the emotional and practical support they need, and fund research to help more Australians live longer and have a better quality of life.

My fundraising goal may be ambitious, like the climb itself, which will no doubt challenge me. Life in general can also be challenging, unfortunately more for some than others 😔

I would like to take you on my Kilimanjaro Challenge journey, which will hopefully not only inspire you, but also show you that someone who's faced trauma and bereavement; all life-changing, can rise above it all and for the benefit of others.

Preparing for and doing the actual climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro is going to be one challenge, but reaching my fundraising goal is another. This is where I need your support.

I'd like to call upon as many people as possible to help me reach my goal. Whether you are family; a friend; a friend of a friend; I would like to ask you to please support me on this... mission... quest... thing (Lord of the Rings reference ifor the uninitiated 😋

It's not only a physical challenge, but a mental one too. However, I believe I've overcome enough challenges in my life to date, to conquer and climb Kilimanjaro and in doing so, help others diagnosed with Leukaemia and other blood cancers.

There are some very personal reasons why I have chosen to take on this challenge.

My 17 year old daughter Gemma and I, have had to face the sudden and traumatic loss of my wife; my sole-mate and best friend; Gemma's mother. 

Anne, who back in November 2006, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called A-Plastic Anaemia. This changed all of our lives forever. Anne sadly lost her battle with this disease in early 2012 (aged only 42), following multiple unsuccessful treatments and finally a complication associated with the disease 😢🌹

But the challenges didn't end there. Only a short 15 months later, was I then faced with my own cancer diagnosis and journey. Fortunately for me the prognosis was and has been much brighter, and I'm now almost 3 years down the track from my treatment (Radiotherapy), surgery and physiotherapy. 

And then there have been others close to us, like our great friend Mark, who was also diagnosed with the same blood cancer as Anne (who we met as a result). Mark managed to fight the disease only to then be diagnosed with another form of Leukaemia almost 10 years later (2016). The great news for Mark; in large thanks to his sister's generosity being a tissue-type match, is now past the first 100 days (critical as a measure of success) post his stem cell transplant, and he's doing tremendously well 😄 Mark and his wonderfully supportive wife Monica, have been supported by the Leukaemia Foundation throughout Mark's leukaemia journey.

It's because of Anne and Mark that I've been touched by Leukaemia.

I'm therefore dedicating my climb in loving memory of Anne and in celebration of Mark's second chance at life.

I truly hope that the funds I raise will one day help find a treatment breakthroughs for Leukaemia and rare blood cancers like A-Plastic Anaemia. Until that day comes, just knowing every step I take during the challenge is going to help provide families with emotional and practical support and fund blood cancer research, is all I need to succeed!

Every dollar you donate will get me to get one step closer to my fundraising goal. No amount is too small.

Please sponsor me and help me reach my goal.

Thank you.

Yours in fundraising and adventure,
Steve.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Steves-Kilimanjaro-Challenge-2017-Page-743805979056493/

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