Iain Ward "The King of Chemo"
The Cancer
In 2019 I signed up for a medical trial. As part of the trial an MRI was done on my brain and a small, supposedly harmless, tumour was detected.
A later scan showed it growing so, two weeks after my 31st birthday I was scheduled for brain surgery, during which I had to be awake and talking the entire time.
A week later it was confirmed that I had Stage 3 brain cancer, which normally comes with a life expectancy of 5 years. Because I’m younger I might get longer than this but either way I have decided that I’m going to spend my last years dedicating myself to achieving something difficult and worthwhile.
The Goal
I primarily want to break a world record, as much for my own satisfaction as for the charity, I have to admit!
That said, the world record for the most money raised for running a marathon felt like the right one for me to try and break. I wanted to do something physical to show other people with medical or mental issues that they need not be defined by their condition. Think about what Stephen Hawking was able to give to the world, without even the ability to move his mouth to speak.
I knew having cancer could attract people to give to a cancer charity, I myself have given to mental health charities after the loss of a friend to suicide. In an odd way I thought it was a moral duty to raise money for a charity that I knew I’d be uniquely good at given my new situation. “What a man can be, he must be.” - Abraham Maslow
My main goal is to try and break the most money raised for charity for a marathon, currently at £2,320,601. Other world records I'm working on breaking are the longest ever charity livestream - 32 days - and the most t-shirts worn during a marathon, which will be 101.
What can you do to help?
The best thing you can do is give my social media a follow/subscription/like etc. - find me @thekingofchemo.
Having a large social media presence makes getting sponsorship from brands far more attractive. I grow the channel, they donate to advertise on it.
Or if you’ve got anything else that might help me achieve my goals, get in touch!