03/29/2024

Wales News Online

Local & National News for Wales

13-year-old Oliver’s 90 miles in 90 days challenge to raise funds for Myeloma UK

13-year-old Oliver Papadakis from Marshfield, Newport, has set himself the ambitious challenge to run, skip and walk 90 miles in 90 days in a bid to raise funds for Myeloma UK, a charity close to his heart as his grandfather, Josef Parness, 74, also from Newport, was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer myeloma five years ago. Oliver’s ultimate goal is to fund research into a cure.

The plucky teenager embarked on the challenge on Valentine’s Day and is due to reach the ‘finish line’ on May 14. He has covered 32 miles so far and raised a whopping £1,311 for Myeloma UK.

Oliver is hoping the challenge will help him fund vital research towards a cure, raise awareness of the symptoms of myeloma and achieve the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.

Oliver is a busy bee. Clocking in 90 miles and fitting the challenge around his busy schedule, GCSEs homework and many extracurricular activities has been a real juggling act at times. But the indefatigable teen squeezes in a quick jog up and down the road or a spin on the static bike any chance he gets – usually in the evenings.

Josef Parness, whose own mother passed away from myeloma, was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer five years ago after an MRI scan picked up cracks in the bones of his arms and legs. Thankfully the cancer was caught early and he started treatment straightaway.

Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer which kills 3,000 people each year in the UK.

Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, it is especially difficult to detect as 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.

Link to Oliver’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ruth-parness?utm_id=124

Oliver said: “My grandad always has a smile on his face. He’s living with myeloma and he’s pushing through it. He’s breaking that brick wall.

My grandad loves what I’m doing. I see him a lot because we play tennis together and he always asks me how much I’ve raised. He always has a smile on his face when I talk about the challenge.

“I’m doing this to help myeloma research and for my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. I just wanted to raise awareness of myeloma and money for research. Research is going to help patients. People with myeloma deserve a normal and painless life.

“My legs killed after doing 11 miles on the bike the other day but the pain and tiredness…it’s a small thing I can do.

“The hardest part has been finding the time. I’m going into my GCSEs and I have so much on – I play volleyball, I keep active and I have homework and revision. But every opportunity I get, I go for it. Tomorrow I’m going to my grandad’s house after school, so I’ll do 10 miles for an hour, then rest then do another 10 miles.

“I want to raise as much as I can. I would be so happy with £2,000. I love every minute of what I’m doing right now. I’m going to try and raise as much money as I can now and in the future. I think I could go up to 100 miles one day.”

WHAT IS MYELOMA?

Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects more than 24,000 people in the UK
On average 16 people are diagnosed with myeloma every day in the UK
Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, myeloma is especially difficult to detect as symptoms, chief among them 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 aims to control the disease, relieve the complications and symptoms it causes, increase patients’ life expectancy and improve their quality of life. It generally leads to periods of remission, but patients inevitably relapse requiring further treatment
Myeloma is the 19th most common type of cancer
Myeloma mostly affects people aged 65 and over but it has been diagnosed in people as young as 20

10 KEY STATISTICS

Around 5,800 people are diagnosed with myeloma every year
Eight people die from myeloma every day
More than 3,000 people die from myeloma every year
74% of people diagnosed with myeloma every year are over 65
Half of all myeloma patients will survive their disease for five years or more
Around one third of myeloma patients will survive their disease for ten years or more
Half of patients face a wait of over five months to receive the right diagnosis and around a third are diagnosed through an emergency route
A third of myeloma patients visit their GP at least three times before getting a diagnosis
Myeloma is the third most common type of blood cancer
Myeloma makes up 2% of all new cancer cases diagnosed ever year

ABOUT MYELOMA UK

Myeloma UK is the only organisation in the UK exclusively dedicated to myeloma and related conditions
We receive no core Government funding and rely almost entirely on voluntary donations and fundraising
Our ultimate goal is to find a cure and make myeloma history. Until then, our mission is to help every patient live well with myeloma for as long as possible
We are committed to diagnosing myeloma earlier, discovering and sharing knowledge, transforming the patient experience and influencing positive change in care
We provide a range of crucial information and support services for patients, their family and friends
Our free Myeloma Infoline is available on 0800 980 3332, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm (closed weekends and some public holidays)
To find out more about myeloma and the work of Myeloma UK, visit www.myeloma.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @MyelomaUK and Facebook, facebook.com/myelomauk/

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