My Story
Last year, Spencer Wilson ran the London Marathon for The Prostate Cancer Charity. Unfortunately, after 18 miles he collapsed and ended up spending 10 days in hospital with kidney failure. We find out why he was determined to get fit for this year’s race and what inspired him to succeed.
"When Dad didn’t know what to do, the Helpline nurse took the time to explain all his options clearly."
"In a lot of ways, I’m just like my Dad. We’re both stubborn and refuse to back down from a challenge. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to try to run the marathon again. The other was because of the support and advice The Prostate Cancer Charity Helpline gave my Dad and the rest of the family when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
When he found out he had cancer, Dad’s attitude was phenomenal. The whole family was shocked, but he tried to hold it together and put on a brave face for us. However, after a visit to the family doctor, we could all tell he was more worried than he was letting on. Then he told Mum there were several options for treatment and he didn’t really know what to do. She got The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Helpline number from a friend and got Dad to call them straight away.
After speaking to one of The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Specialist Nurses, Dad realised how little he knew about prostate cancer. He was talked through his treatment options thoroughly and given all the information he needed to make a decision. In the end, he chose radiotherapy and thankfully it was a complete success.
My Mum and girlfriend didn’t want me to run this year after what happened last time, but they knew I was fit and understood why I just had do it. The Prostate Cancer Charity has done so much for Dad that I wanted to give something back. As it was, I didn’t push myself too hard, but still managed to complete the course in 5 hours 9 minutes and raised over £2,300. I hope it will go some way to saying thank you for the help my family received from The Prostate Cancer Charity."
Every year, more and more people take part in this unique event on behalf of The Prostate Cancer Charity. In 2005, our biggest ever team of over 100 runners entered and look likely to raise more than £200,000. If you think you might be interested, please visit our Events Calendar for more details.
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