What a difference a week makes.
On Thursday this week, I was truly honoured to receive the Welsh Music Inspiration Award. I was surprised and thrilled to find out the award had been given to me, and it certainly came as a welcome respite from the health sagas of recent times, giving me something else to talk about other than the performance of my blood count and miracle drugs that are giving me my life back.
Talking about drugs though, I had an encounter with Rituximab this week and although I was slightly nervous about receiving it after a gap of some 5 years, I’m pleased to report that I came through the day long IV session without any of the negative reaction I had started to experience all those years ago, forcing me to seek out other treatment paths.
I also had a positive meeting with Dr. Heartin and his team, who told me that my blood count was now fully under control and also laying out the schedule of the bi-weekly / monthly treatment program I now have to undertake indefinitely, in order to stay healthy and to keep my Leukaemia at bay.
The ongoing treatment schedule will obviously impact on the way I can move about the world, and even though I knew it was out of my reach this time, I still feel a great sadness that I cannot undertake and lead the Love Hope Strength trek to the Sahara Desert this coming month.
Instead, Jules will take up the baton in helping to guide and support people on their individual and collective journey to support cancer care around the world.
She has already displayed her leadership qualities to so many people in so many ways and during these last six months, when I was so poorly and unable to see the way forward, Jules has been my own guide, keeping me going with her positivity, insight and humour and caring for me in all manner of ways and looking after the needs of our two boys and managing the demands of the Alarm community and music infrastructure. I certainly would not be writing this if wasn’t for all her devotion and dedication to myself and our family.
So with that in mind, I’m going to ask each and everyone of you to try and support her as she takes 50 Love Hope Strength / Alarm supporters into the heat of the Sahara Desert.
At present, there are approx. 50,000 known followers of The Alarm on Facebook, and if everyone could find just one pound or dollar to donate to Jules’ Just Giving page, then we could add that to the £50,000 already raised by the collective Sahara Rocks trekking party to date.
We can make that figure grow even more thanks to an amazing benefactor named Robert Beauchamp who has graciously offered to match fund every single donation to Jules’ personal Just Giving page from today onwards.
Robert has been a tremendous supporter of LHS and is a hard core and dedicated Alarm fan. We are lucky to count him amongst our community and the funds he has previously donated, have helped to make a huge difference for people like me, who struggle with cancer.
We have shown in the past, that together through Love Hope Strength , we can make a massive difference so please if you can find a way in your heart to support Jules on the Love Hope Strength – Sahara Rocks mission to successfully negotiate the desert, where we can bring continued support to individuals and families who need our love, hope and strength.
Thankyou,
Mike Peters
Love Hope Strength (LHS) helps save and change lives one concert, one step, one helping hand at a time through working in partnership with cancer care specialists across the globe and offering support when families affected by cancer need it most. The money we raise through Sahara Rocks will help LHS fund new equipment and special projects in cancer centres, treatment units and community services in the UK and the USA. LHS will also help people affected by cancer across the globe through its partnerships with local hospitals and international organisations including the Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania, blood cancer charity DKMS, the World Cancer Research Fund and the Union for International Cancer Control.
Every £1 or $1 given to my fundraising will be matched, £ for £, $ for $ by the wonderful Beauchamp Family Foundation. You can give to LHS UK through this page, or give through tax effectively in the USA through our secure US website, here.
It will only take a couple of minutes, but could help make the world of difference for those people affected by cancer who will benefit from your generosity.
Thankyou.