John, your support on this is really appreciated and Steve Williams, you are an inspiration to so many people, not in just the fact that you are running a half marathon (and I'm sure you won't mind me mentioning your age of 60) but also the day to day dedication you put in to keep fit as witnessed by just about every early morning inhabitant on the Çalis sea front come rain or shine.
Like John, many of us have been touched by the physical or psychological effects of cancer, both of which can have a long term devastating effect. Although it's never wise to generalise in these circumstances, I hope most of you can say that when experiencing or witnessing such times, good and comprehensive local care was available to all.
Although healthcare is generally of a very high standard here, many of the 'specialisms' aren't carried out locally. In terms of cancer diagnosis and treatment, a significant amount are only available in city's like Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Ankara etc.
A very typical scenario may be that you have symptoms requiring a colonoscopy or breast tissue biopsy, you will be referred to one of the City's listed above, if you can't afford to get there, stay there, return there etc..... the outcome can of course be not only heartbreaking but devastating.
So there lies our mission, in the fight against cancer we want to bring every good idea to the table and Race for Life - UK is a great idea. Investment in Cancer Research, Treatment and Awareness is not constrained by border, race, age or religion, it benefits us all and we want that benefit to be felt locally.
Anyway, thank you to everyone for all of your support and John, please reserve Chris and I three random numbers, one each for our parents whose lost at a really young age.
Thank you also to everyone who invests £5 in a shirt in memory of a loved one, I promise that your investment will be used to good effect.
