Pocklington woman's marathon effort in fight against myeloma
A woman is running six marathons around Europe in honour of her father who died from an incurable blood cancer.Annette Taylor, 44, from Pocklington, East Yorkshire, set herself a challenge of running more than 150 miles after Dave Duff died in November 2023.The mother-of-three will take part in races in Paris, Athens, Manchester, Leeds, Chester and York to raise awareness of myeloma, a deadly blood cancer.She said she wanted to "help save others by running in memory of my dad".
"My dad was a wonderful man and we were very close," Ms Taylor said."We'd never heard of myeloma before so it was a big shock when he was diagnosed, and an even bigger shock when we found his condition was incurable."Running in memory of my dad might help me save others."Ms Taylor's efforts will be in aid of Myeloma UK.There are about 33,000 people in the UK living with the disease, which affects bone marrow, according to the charity.
Symptoms include pain in the back or ribs, fatigue and bones that break easily.Mr Duff had back pain for more than a year before he was diagnosed with myeloma in January 2018."Because Dad worked a physical job as a site manager at a caravan park when he complained of back pain, we just thought he was overdoing it," Ms Taylor said."After a slipped disc, he had tests which revealed fractures in his spine and he was diagnosed with osteoporosis that then led to an investigation which unearthed the cancer."
Despite being unwell, he managed to walk his daughter down the aisle when she married her husband Dale in 2023. He died aged 67."I know Dad would have wanted me to focus on the positives like he did," Ms Taylor said."That's why I am running six marathons for him this year."Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
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