Stirling University student, Keir Morton, has helped raise nearly £5000 this month for pancreatic cancer research, in memory of his Dad, who passed away on New Year’s Day.
The 20-year-old PE and Teaching student, along with his sister Iona, has been taking part in a month-long challenge called JogJan for Pan Can, which aims to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer – an illness which is fast spreading and difficult to detect.
The charity, Pancreatic Cancer Action, has created this new event which requires participants to walk, jog or run, a daily distance of their choice over the course of January. The event will raise funds for the charity to help research the disease.
A number of friends were keen to commit to the challenge and rushed to get involved. Incredibly, around 20 pals have helped to raise a total of almost £7000 to date.
Keir’s Dad, Alistair, was only diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in mid-December, and sadly passed away just over two weeks later. This story is unfortunately not atypical, with symptoms left unidentified due to the lack of common understanding of the disease. As a result, pancreatic cancer has a lower five-year survival rate than most cancers.
Signs of pancreatic cancer include: loss of appetite; loss of weight without trying; lack of energy, as well as indigestion; pain at the top of your stomach and back, and the yellowing of eye whites and skin.
Keir hopes that taking part in this challenge will help to spread awareness of pancreatic cancer, and help others receive an earlier diagnosis.
He said: “I hope that the money raised from this amazing event can help tackle this horrible disease and ultimately prevent others from experiencing the trauma that me and my family are currently experiencing.
“The support shown to us has been outstanding. Around 20-25 people are now involved in raising money in memory of my dad – it has left us speechless.
“At the end of the month we will calculate the real amount raised in memory of my Dad, but at the moment it is nearly £7000.”
For Keir, one of the most important aspects of this event is raising awareness of the disease, and its symptoms.
“It is vital to keep raising awareness of pancreatic cancer, because many people do not know the symptoms. One way to help out is by posting symptoms on social media for others to see.
“This means that if anyone ever did feel that they had symptoms, they could visit the doctor and get them checked.”
The challenge ends in just a few days but there is still time to donate to the fundraiser and educate yourself about the symptoms of pancreatic cancer.
Featured Image Credit: Keir Morton
4th Year Journalism Studies and Politics Student at Stirling University. Sports Editor. Bylines in Brig Newspaper and The Oban Times
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