A WORCESTER dad is taking part in the Cob House Country Walk this weekend to raise money for blood cancer research charity Bloodwise after his three-year-old daughter Izzy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
David Fletcher, 38, is taking part in Saturday’s event after his daughter Izzy was diagnosed with blood cancer in January last year, just before her second birthday.
The Cob House Country Walk Starts and finishes at Cob House Country Park nestled in the heart of Worcestershire.
There are three distances to choose from, either a one mile family walk, or 5 or 11 mile ramble through beautiful parklands, forests, orchards and along river banks.
“Izzy is in the maintenance phase of treatment now, aimed at stopping the leukaemia coming back, and she’ll continue to have chemotherapy until May next year. She still gets very tired in the middle of the day, but she has regained a lot of weight she lost earlier in the treatment, and her hair is growing back nicely,” David said.
“We want to support Bloodwise as they have helped fund the clinical drugs trial and treatment that has led to the treatment Izzy is receiving. This trial has allowed her to have an ‘easier’ course of treatment, with less visits to hospital and a life closer to normality. Without this trial Izzy would be receiving stronger chemotherapy, with more visits to hospital, more steroids, and increased vulnerability to infection.”
David and Izzy will be attending the walk with mum Vicky and their grandmother, eight-year old big sister, Sophie and one-year-old Fred.
Money raised from the walk will be invested in research into blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, as well as patient support services for those affected by the disease.
Emma Jane Jones, regional manager at Bloodwise, said: “Thanks to fund-raisers like David and his family, we can continue to fund research projects that will find more effective and less harsh treatments for blood cancer, a disease which is the fifth most common and the third biggest cancer killer.
“The Fletchers know only to well the importance of events like the Cob House Country Walk in saving more lives, and we are incredibly grateful to them, and all those who have signed up, for taking on this challenge and making a difference.”
Visit www.bloodwise.org.uk/cob-house for more.
