Support Rob as he trains to run the Lausanne Half Marathon only 24 months after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia!
NOTE: Due to COVID-19, the Geneva Harmony Half was cancelled for 2020 so Rob is now running in the Lausanne Half Marathon!!
UPDATE 28 June: Due to the cancellation of the Geneva Marathon, Rob is now signed up and training to run the Lausanne Half Marathon on Sunday October 25th!!! Two of his brothers will be running alongside him to show their support. What a team!
UPDATE 9 May: This morning I was supposed to be lining up to start the Geneva half-marathon. Unfortunately it was not to be, though at least the sun is shining.
I made it through four months of training and a bout of pneumonia, but the COVID-19 situation has brought me to a halt. Since my immune system is suppressed, my doctors advised me to strictly lock-down and for the last 9 weeks I have been in some kind of survival challenge, confined to a small apartment with three small, over-energetic children.
The good news is that as of tomorrow the Swiss authorities are beginning to ease the lockdown measures and my doctors (perhaps fearing for my mental health!) are allowing me out at last. The half-marathon event has been postponed to October 4th (tbc) and so tomorrow training starts again.
Thank you to all those that have so kindly supported me in fundraising for ESCA CancerSupport, and I ask you to please bear with me as I postpone my commitment – I am going to complete the 21km, just a bit later than planned!
Please support Rob to run the 2020 Geneva Half Marathon, fundraising for ESCA CancerSupport, 29 months after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
I am running the Geneva Harmony Half-Marathon to help others benefit from the amazing, free of charge, ESCA CancerSupport services that I have been fortunate to receive.
I first stepped into the ESCA CS centre in Geneva in April 2018, a month after being rushed into hospital with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. I had just survived two weeks in intensive care followed by three weeks of chemotherapy, isolated in the blood cancer unit of Lausanne’s CHUV hospital. I was 23kg lighter than my indulgent post-Christmas peak, completely bald, and battling to keep my body temperature below 40 celsius. I was mentally exhausted.
In hospital I received the best of Swiss medical care for my body, from the most incredible team of people I have ever met. But mental well-being tends to take a back seat to keeping the heart beating and the lungs breathing. My embarrassingly poor French also distanced me from the limited mental health support on offer. Night and day, I was terrified of leaving Theo, Milo and Isabella (all three under 10) without a father, and Tamsin without a husband. With cancer the threat of death hangs around, day after day, week after week, the unwelcome visitor that just won’t leave.
Three things rescued me mentally. My brave wife, Tamsin. My spectacular therapist of four years, Margaret Curran. And ESCA CS, in particular through the amazing Antonia Calame.
That first day at ESCA CS I had a transformational hour of therapy providing just the encouragement, advice and support I needed with months of isolation chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, and a long journey of recovery ahead of me. I came to rely on regular support sessions, took part in a mind-opening Art Therapy course, and participated in their Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Cancer Patients programme, a life changing experience that has given me a group of friends I still keep up with.
Equally invaluably, ESCA CS supported Tamsin. The collateral damage inflicted on families by a cancer diagnosis can be overshadowed by the suffering of the patient, but carers equally need support to cope with the ordeal.
ESCA CS helped rescue us and it is a privilege to be able to run to support them. A big thank you from the bottom of my heart for any and every generous donation towards their efforts.
Support Rob as he now runs the 25 October 2020 Lausanne Half Marathon in support of ESCA CS! (the Geneva Harmony Half was cancelled due to Covid-19)
What an inspiring story! And what a lovely family you have! Cheers to all of you and wishing you many decades of happy times together! Thank… Read more
What an inspiring story! And what a lovely family you have! Cheers to all of you and wishing you many decades of happy times together! Thank you for doing this for ESCA CS.
With thanks to you and your family for such inspiration!
Go Rob!
Absolutely phenomenal. I wish I could run it with you!
All my love!!! You are an inspiration!
Heartfelt thanks Rob. You are amazing! With you all the way...
You are and will always be one of my favorite people in this world. Your kindness, strength and generosity with others is what makes you… Read more
You are and will always be one of my favorite people in this world. Your kindness, strength and generosity with others is what makes you special Rob. I am not surprised you continue to beat this. You are amazing. Wish I could do more, but know am thinking of you. Go luck and stay strong.
This is really great Rob! Keep up the spirit!
We do not know each other but I am sure you will succeed crossing the finish line at the half marathon, recovering from the Acute Myeloid… Read more
We do not know each other but I am sure you will succeed crossing the finish line at the half marathon, recovering from the Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and leaving it as part of the past, and I am sure you and your familiy will continue to succeed with any challenges in life. GO ROB!! All the very best and ill be cherring at the finish line in May! ;)
You’re an inspiration Rob! All the best to you and your family, and the ESCA CS Volunteers.
Go Rob Go! Very proud. Love The Campbell's