Cancer survivor Olly Rofix will return to London on Friday 28th October after his seven month voyage round the UK, which saw him raise awareness for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan and recruit donors to their stem cell register.
Olly, from Woodbridge in Suffolk, was diagnosed with a form of leukaemia so rare that it didn’t even have a name in 2005. “I was only the third person in the world to have had this form of leukaemia,” explains Olly, “which I thought was pretty cool until I found out the other two were dead.”
Olly received a blood stem cell, or bone marrow, transplant through Anthony Nolan in 2008. He embarked on his solo voyage in March, to raise awareness of the charity that saved his life. “Telling more people about Anthony Nolan’s register is crucial, but I also want to inspire other people who are ill or who have been ill. I want to show them that they might be ill now, but they can go on to do great things.”
Olly will sail into St Katherine’s Dock at 1.30pm on Friday 28th October, where he will be greeted by his friends, family and Anthony Nolan staff.
Lynsey Dickson, donor recruitment manager for Anthony Nolan, says, “Olly’s challenge has been an absolutely fantastic achievement. Not only has he helped raise awareness of our work, but he has also managed to recruit 35 new donors to our register – any one of whom could one day come up as a match and help save a life. We couldn’t do our work without volunteers like Olly and we’re so grateful for his support.”
For more information about Olly’s trip, please visit www.olivers-travels.co.uk.
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