Tour de 4 fundraiser - live well with stage 4 cancer

Melanie Erwin is organizing this fundraiser to benefit Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

My story - cancer during covid

Sarah and I, a week before my diagnosis

My world fell apart when I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020 aged 52. As a non-smoking woman, I had no idea it was even possible. It turns out that Anyone With Lungs Can Get Lung Cancer. Increasing numbers of young people (some as young as 20), non-smokers and in particular young women are being diagnosed. I had half a lung removed, 4 months of gruelling chemotherapy and 1 month of radiotherapy. The cancer came back last year. I am now stage 4. Incurable but treatable.

I want to live a long and lovely life in spite of stage 4 lung cancer. And because of new treatments, me and thousands of people like me are living well. We need, however, more support and drug options for when our treatments stop working. And they will.

Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer for men and women in the world yet receives significantly less funding than other cancers.

Read more about my story on Substack here.

Cycling challenge with Sir Chris Hoy's Tour de 4

Sarah and I outside our favourite independent bike shop: Two Wheels Good in Stoke Newington, London

Sarah, my fiancé, and I have signed up to Sir Chris Hoy's fundraising cycle event Tour de 4.

We are cycling 37.5 miles on September 7th this year. Which happens to be my 58th birthday! I currently cycle ZERO miles per week so this is a mission. The cycle starts in Glasgow. We are excited (I'm a bit daunted!).

Please follow me on Instagram for updates. I have exactly six months to be cycle ready!

Sir Chris Hoy and I don't have much in common. He has lots of bikes. I have a rusty one in the shed. But we do both have stage 4 cancer. He is doing awesome work raising awareness about cancer. Give that man another gold medal.

We both believe that:

We need to talk about cancer - 1 in 2 of us will get it
People can live beautiful, meaningful lives with stage 4 cancer
Hope is our rocket fuel
Research into new and better treatments is vital for all cancers.

Raising money for Roy Castle Lung Foundation

This fabulous charity changed my outlook on having lung cancer. Cancer is so isolating. During recovery in 2021, I read every case study on their site. Here were people living, truly living, with lung cancer. With hope.

It is the only UK charity wholly dedicated to beating lung cancer.

Through donations, they:

Fund vital research for better outcomes for all patients and increase survival rates
Support lung cancer patients and their families
Help prevent the next generation from getting lung cancer.

Your donations will be used to raise awareness about lung cancer, support patients and fund research.

How much we aim to raise - we're going BIG!

£10,000 is a lot of money to aim for! We feel passionately that all people with lung cancer deserve the best chance, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, or smoking history. We have loved ones, children, grandchildren. My grand baby is just 2 years old.

Support and research cost money. And this money will make a difference. Maybe to someone you love now or in the future.

More funding, more research, more treatment options = more life.

Every pound raised will go directly to Roy Castle Lung Foundation.

Thank you so much for supporting us. It means everything.