I'm John Paul, in November 2021 during a check up for Ulcerative Colitis, it was discovered that I had developed stage 2 colon cancer. Due to both my Colitis and Cancer it was decided to remove my colon and in December 2021 I underwent an operation to remove it and create a permanent stoma.
The operation was successful and as a back up I underwent 6 rounds of chemotherapy at the Beatson in Glasgow from February 2022 to April 2022 and I rang the bell to mark the end of treatment on Easter Monday. I've been told I am cancer free, thankfully.

There is an extraordinary amount of people I could thank for their help and support and charities who have done so much research for Bowel Cancer, however I have chose two charities who directly helped me and my family during this time.

The Beatson Cancer Charity
The staff and volunteers at the Beatson are amazing, the job they all do is remarkable. At a time when you are at your lowest they offer you a tremendous amount of support and comfort. They made chemotherapy a much easier time than it would otherwise have been.

Back Onside
This is a mental health charity that offered me and my family counselling and support through all of this. I really didn't know how to process everything that was happening and the counselling I received helped me through understanding how I was feeling and learning to cope. Their continued support to me and my family is greatly appreciated and needed.

To say thank you, myself and a group of friends (Andy, Dave, Stephen W, Stephen S and Gary) have decided to run the 10k at the Great Scottish Run in October and Marianne is going to swim 10k over the month of September.

The team name comes from my Stoma Bag. It's as much part of me now as the hair on my head and honestly I wouldn't change it for the world, it has given me a new quality of life I haven't had in 25 years. They also say you should name your stoma, I named it...Colon Firth

We would love if you could donate anything you can to raise money for these two incredible causes.

Thank you for any support you can give

JP