A Cambridge scientist planning to walk the Virgin Money London Marathon is currently our top marathon fundraiser, having raised over £13,000 already.
Jake Gray was inspired to take part after beating cancer eight years ago following a lifesaving bone marrow transplant from his sister. On 13th April, Jake will be taking on the Virgin Money London Marathon London for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan. Due to scar tissue in his lungs as a result of the transplant, the 28-year-old cannot run and instead plans to walk the marathon in under seven hours.
Jake's story
In 2005, 19-year-old Jake had just returned from travelling around the world on his gap year when he fell ill and was admitted to hospital. Jake received the shocking news that he had an aggressive form of lymphoma, a life threatening blood cancer which affects the immune system. After five months of gruelling chemotherapy, Jake was given the all clear and started his degree at the The University of Birmingham studying Human Biology.
In the summer holidays after his first year at University, Jake had back pains and went straight to the local A&E unit. It was then that Jake received the news he had developed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
Jake says, “The first bout of treatment had taken every ounce of strength I thought I had, but that was just the start. This time around, the chemo would be just as hard, and now I would also need radiotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.”
The race was on to find a matching donor and Jake’s family were tested. Fortunately Jake’s big sister, Harriet, was a match. Jake says,
“I was happy but at the time I really had no idea how difficult it could be to find a bone marrow match. It wasn’t something I’d ever heard or thought about. Looking back, I should have been more elated. I now realise just how lucky I am to have a related donor match. “
The other 70%
Only 30% of people in need of a transplant find a matching donor within their family. The other 70% of people turn to us to search for remarkable people willing to donate their bone marrow to strangers in desperate need of a transplant.
Jake (left) with older siblings Ben and Harriet.
Jake is now supporting us, the official charity of the Virgin Money London Marathon 2014. By reaching the target of £1million, Anthony Nolan runners will make it possible for us to add 10,000 potential bone marrow donors to the register. Any one of them could save the life of someone with blood cancer.
A real achievement
Jake, who took part in the marathon in 2012, says “It took me over 7 hours to complete as I have developed a lung condition due to GvHD. This year I hope to finish in less than 7 hours. For me, that will be a real achievement.”
“I was never really interested in sport before the transplant but walking helps with my physiotherapy. Raising awareness of bone marrow transplants is really important to me. I’ve been to talk to students at Birmingham University’s Marrow group and was in contact with local press, and my MP before.”
Jake now works in a laboratory producing antibodies for the biological research market (Abcam) and lives with friends in Cambridge. This will be his second marathon.
Jake adds: “When it comes to the day of the marathon, I imagine I’ll be a little nervous but I’m just going to try and enjoy it. After the last one, I vowed I would never do it again but the next day I couldn’t wait to sign up. I’ve worked hard on recovering and it’s great to think ‘I can do this’. It’s going to be momentous and emotional at the finish. “
Every penny helps
Harriet, Jake’s sister, says, “When the phone rang and the woman on the end of it told me I was a match and we could proceed to bone marrow transplant I made her repeat it twice, just to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I knew that we were very, very lucky. The process of donation itself was very easy and involved a relatively painless and hassle free process, which was similar to giving blood. The more people are on that register, the more chance patients will have of finding the match they need. Every penny you donate to Jake’s ridiculous second marathon will help Anthony Nolan to find that life-saving match.”
Sponsor Jake here.