In 2010 my family received some bad news. My grandfather had been diagnosed with penile cancer, an incredibly rare cancer effecting 1 man in every 100,000. It was such a shock especially as I didn’t even know you could get penile cancer.
After seeing what my grandfather had been through I decided I wanted to raise money for a charity that focuses on urology disease. That’s when I found out about The Urology Foundation.
My grandfather’s cancer had a huge effect on our whole family. I knew very little about urological diseases – I knew about testicular and prostate cancer but didn’t realise the effect a urological condition, or disease, can have on your quality of live.
The work of The Urology Foundation is really important as it funds research into cancers that no-one really talks about very much. It’s because of their support into all urological disease research including penile cancer that made me want to support them. I want to ensure that people like my grandfather can get the treatment they need.
I raised £646 in total. That was through the sponsorship of family, friends and work colleagues. I didn’t realise how many people wanted me to jump out of a plane!
There wasn’t really any training or planning for the skydive. I focused my efforts on my fundraising and trying to spread the word of urological cancer. I also think the more people who knew I was doing a skydive the more people I would be letting down if didn’t go through with it.
Don’t hesitate to do something like this as it was the best thing I’ve ever done, also so rewarding knowing you’ve raised such a great amount whilst doing it.
If you want to do your own skydive for TUF we have teamed up with UK Skydiving Adventures who will help you plan a thrilling fundraising challenge.
