An account director at an award-winning Leamington Spa communications agency completed a charity walk during blood cancer awareness month to support a worthy cause that has deeply impacted his family.
Sam Smith, who works at R&Co Communications, and 13 other family members spanning four generations, including his 74-year-old grandad who has recently had a knee operation, walked 14.4 miles to complete the length of the Brampton Valley Way, starting in Leicestershire and finishing in Northamptonshire.
They were raising money for Lymphoma Action, a charity that has come to the aid of his mum Lisa Dent who was first diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2006, before being in remission for many years, only for the blood cancer to return in 2021.
Sam, 30, said: “My mum is an inspiration to me and all that know her. She is beating Hodgkin Lymphoma and, as a family, we wanted to echo her battling determination by stepping out together and raising as much money as possible for the charity that has supported her.”
Lisa’s gruelling relapse treatment has involved ‘salvage’ chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant using her own cells, which were frozen and then returned to her following ‘conditioning’ chemotherapy, which wiped out almost all her immune system to the same level of a new born baby.
She’s now on the long road to recovery and is keen to praise the support she’s had from her husband and family.
Lisa said: “In 2021 I felt a lump in my groin and my fears were confirmed in December of that year – the Lymphoma had returned.
“There have been a few setbacks and I’m still adjusting to my new ‘normal’. Throughout all of this, my husband and my family have been really supportive and continue to be so.”
Lymphoma Action is the UK’s only charity dedicated to lymphoma, the fifth most common cancer.
Peter Robinson, managing director at R&Co, said: “Sam is a very popular and committed member of the team. Everyone at R&Co, upon hearing the news, supported him and cheered him on.
“We are delighted that Sam and his wonderful family – all four generations – completed the walk and exceeded their fund raising target for such an important cause.”
