Chichester man doing 40 fundraisers in memory of mother who suffered incurable cancer

Alistair Randall, 36, an Architect from Chichester, has pledged to complete 40 fundraising challenges and events in aid of Myeloma UK, the only British charity focused on the blood cancer.

Mr Randall’s fundraising activities will officially begin on Good Friday – the same week as his 37th birthday - with a 63-mile (24-hour) walk from his current residence in Greenwich to his birthplace and childhood home in Chichester.

The remaining 39 challenges are in the works and are likely to include mucking out farm animals, competing in the international fitness competition Hyrox and undertaking a skydive. Supporters will also be encouraged to suggest challenges.

Judy Randall, Mr Randall’s mother, passed away in 2019 (aged 72) having been diagnosed with myeloma 18 months prior.

Mr Randall commented, “I adored my mum. She was my favourite person in the world. In December 2017 mum was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and passed away from the illness in July 2019. During this short time, the bravery with which she fought this cruel illness was truly remarkable. She never once complained despite the fact she was so often in pain and discomfort.

“I want to pay tribute to my amazing mum. I also want to give back to Myeloma UK who were an invaluable source of advice and reassurance throughout mum’s illness too.

“Knowing that your loved one has an incurable disease is devastating and it was only made worse for us by how mystifying of an illness it is.” Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects over 24,000 people in the UK.

Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, it is difficult to detect symptoms - including back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection - are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.

While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, relieving the complications and symptoms it causes, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life.

Mr Randall continued, “Naturally, we feel indebted to Myeloma UK for everything they did, so I wanted to try and do the biggest, best fundraiser I could fathom and this is what we came up with. I am sure that friends of mine will have some outlandish suggestions for challenges, so I may be opening a can of worms but it will be more than worthwhile.”

Matt Wynes, Director of Fundraising at blood cancer charity Myeloma UK, said: “We can’t thank Alistair enough for his incredible support and for going above and beyond for the myeloma community.

“We receive no core government funding for the work that we do so voluntary donations, fundraising and gifts in wills are the lifeblood of Myeloma UK. It’s thanks to supporters like Alistair that we can continue to fund vital research into new treatments, and ultimately a cure, as well as essential support services for patients, their families, and those affected by myeloma.”

Mr Randall will be raising funds via the Just Giving platform at www.justgiving.com/page/40by40