"In the future, we'll see a lot more of these re-purposed drugs coming into the clinic."

  ~ Dr. Kyle Matchett

This final #TimPageFitForLife interview is with Kyle Matchett.

Dr, Matchett's work as Research Fellow at the Centre for Cancer Research & Cell Biology at Queens University Belfast is funded by LLNI.

The QUB research portal gives details of Kyle's activities and his Twitter feed is here.

Thanks to Kyle for explaining his work on drug re-purposing and, once again, thank you to Joanne Badger on camera.

To support Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI's researchers' vital research, the BTmydonate site (0% commission) is here

In case you missed them, all of the earlier interviews are listed here: 

• Dr. Mary Drake, Consultant Haematologist - Overview of Blood Cancers
• Laura Croan, Clinical Nurse Specialist - Physical Fitness for Patients
• Mike McAuley, Fitness Trainer - Benefits of Physical Fitness
• Andy Magowan - Exsto Gym - Benefits of Sports Massage
• Prof. Ken Mills, Chair of Experimental Haematology, The Importance of Research

"Without your support we couldn't do our valuable research."

  ~ Professor Ken Mills

This fifth #TimPageFitForLife interview is with Ken Mills.

Professor Mills is Chair of Experimental Haematology with the Centre for Cancer Research & Cell Biology at Queens University Belfast.

The QUB research portal gives details of Professor Mills' activities, including a substantial list of research papers.

Thanks to Ken for making time for this interview and, also, to Joanne Badger on camera! 

In addition to leading research, Ken has kindly made time to support our fund- and awareness-raising work, including the Bake Sale and initial DKMS Donor Drive in BT Riverside Tower.  

If you would like to donate to LLNI, the BTmydonate site is here

In case you missed them, previous interviews were with

• Dr. Mary Drake, Consultant Haematologist - Overview of Blood Cancers
• Laura Croan, Clinical Nurse Specialist - Physical Fitness for Patients
• Mike McAuley, Fitness Trainer - Benefits of Physical Fitness
• Andy Magowan - Exsto Gym - Benefits of Sports Massage

The final interview will be posted shortly:

• Dr. Kyle Matchett - LLNI - repurposing of drugs

"We should be preparing our bodies for what life throws at you."

  ~ Mike McAuley

This third #TimPageFitForLife interview is with Michael McAuley.

Michael graduated from the University of Ulster in Sports Coaching.  A creative and effective entrepreneur, he is Owner of EXSTO Fitness & Fitness Trainer at EXSTO Gym.

Michael, Fitness Trainer to Ruth and myself for 18 months, talks about the 'massive' health benefits of fitness including the physical, mental, emotional and occupational aspects of our lives.

Michael sees one of his aims as to "try and just get people moving", citing the American Heart Association as one of thousands of resources available on the web.

Thank you to Michael for getting me moving.  After 18 months, I'm the strongest and fittest that I've ever been ... I can recommend him as a Fitness Trainer who can help prepare his clients for what life may throw at them.  Thanks also to Andy Magowan, cameraman for this interview, who's up next in our fourth interview.

If you would like to donate to LLNI, the BTmydonate site is here

In case you missed them, previous interviews were with

• Dr. Mary Drake, Consultant Haematologist - Overview of Blood Cancers
• Laura Croan, Clinical Nurse Specialist - Physical Fitness for Patients

Next week, a further three interviews will be posted:

• Andy Magowan - Exsto Gym - Benefits of sports massage
• Prof Ken Mills - LLNI - the importance of research
• Dr. Kyle Matchett - LLNI - repurposing of drugs

The second #TimPageFitForLife interview is with Laura Croan, Clinical Nurse Specialist for Lymphoma, based in Belfast City Hospital.

Laura's post is funded by Friends of the Cancer Centre, doing great work - caring for patients, providing various resources for the Cancer Centre and also funding research.

I received help from 'Friends' in 2008 & 2013.  Also, in 1985, during a month of radiotherapy at Belvoir Park Hospital, I recall the kindness of the "Friends of Montgomery House" volunteers.  The charity changed its name in 2006 when services moved to the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital.

Here's a Belfast Live article on the occasion of Laura's appointment.

Laura speaks about the benefits of physical fitness for patients.  If the patient's condition permits, quality of life can be improved with potential benefits of increased muscle strength, energy, sleep & self-esteem - potentially resulting in less fatigue from both disease and treatment.

The academic papers that Laura mentions are listed here.

• Fatigue improved with exercise - "Effects of Supervised Multimodal Exercise Interventions on Cancer-Related Fatigue: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"
• Benefits of exercise through treatment - "Precision Oncology Framework for Investigation of Exercise As Treatment for Cancer"
• 'Prehab' can help patient to tolerate treatment - "Cancer Prehabilitation An Opportunity to Decrease Treatment-Related Morbidity, Increase Cancer Treatment Options, and Improve Physical and Psychological Health Outcomes"
• Exercise after treatment can help with fatigue - "Randomized controlled trial of the effects of high intensity and low-to-moderate intensity exercise on physical fitness and fatigue in cancer survivors: results of the Resistance and Endurance exercise After ChemoTherapy (REACT) study"

Thanks to Laura for providing these references and also for being camerawoman during the interview with Dr. Drake.  And thank you to David Speers, BT Apprentice, for being cameraman for this interview.

If you would like to donate to LLNI, the BTmydonate site is here

In case you missed it, the previous interview with Dr. Mary Drake, Consultant Haematologist is here

In the next interview, to be published on Friday, Michael McAuley, Owner of Exsto Fitness & Personal Trainer discusses the many benefits of fitness for life.

Next week, the remaining interviews will be posted:

• Andy MaGowan - Exsto Gym - Benefits of sports massage
• Prof Ken Mills - LLNI - the importance of research
• Dr. Kyle Matchett - LLNI - repurposing of drugs

In this, the first #TimPageFitForLife video interview, I interview Dr. Mary Drake, Consultant Haematologist at Belfast City Hospital.

Dr. Drake explains the main types of blood cancer - leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma - and describes progress in treatment.

Dr. Drake speaks of the sense of community in Northern Ireland, and how local charities Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI & Friends of the Cancer Centre make a difference to her working life every day.

If you would like to donate to LLNI, the BTmydonate site is here

In the next interview, Laura Croan, Clinical Nurse Specialist for Lymphoma, explains the role of fitness for patients.

With only Stormont to go, Larne parkun may prove to be the day with the bluest sky - a glorious drive up from Holywood, and a great day for the first Larne 10k event.  I will aim to do this next year.

Chris McGonagle gets the prize for furthest-travelled supporter.  Chris, formerly a BT colleague, has been encouraging me from Austin USA for months.  Back home in Banbridge for a few days, Chris drove to Larne to run his first parkrun.  I really appreciated Chris' presence - it was good to swap notes on running, IT, recovery from injury and resilience.  We were pleased to meet up with Phil McIlwrath and Rosy Ryan so soon after Rosy's Lagan10k run last week for Pancreatic Cancer UK.  And great to see regular co-runner Heather Chestnutt again.

Dom Dorris, Run Director, gave a warm welcome to everyone, introducing Larne as one of the tougher parkruns.  I like quotes, and, talking about the hills at Carnfunnock Park, something Dom said rang true:

"The hills are your friend."

 ~ Dom Dorris

For me, this relates to another philosopher's quote which can be true.  Sometimes.

The run was certainly tough, at 44:01 one of my slowest.  I put this down to the repeated circuits up the hills... however, after the race, Dom explained that the heat of the day is not necessarily the runner's friend, and I can see this is true.  Photos from the day show a lot of perspiration on a lot of people!  Great to have BT colleagues Mark Crothers, Michael Fulton, John Kelly and Laurence O'Hagan running alongside. 

And so, at last, I got to meet Gillian Craig, regular runner at Larne parkrun.  Gillian has an enviable PB of 31:27, and her story, including aspects of living with cerebral palsy, was recently on the parkrun weekly newsletter.  Thanks to Gillian for encouragement and support.

"Because of parkrun, and in particular the volunteers at Larne parkrun, I don’t just watch sport from the sidelines anymore. I take part. And I don’t just cheer. I get cheered on. From my family and from the bottom of my heart, I can’t thank the parkrun community enough for your support and encouragement."

~ Gillian Craig

Many Larne volunteers had to leave on time for the Larne 10k, but Ruth was still able to secure a very upbeat photo!

After tea and biscuits in the Sea Cadets' Hall, we drove up the hill to the Parklands Cafe for coffee with Rosy & Phil and David & Fiona Robinson.  On a day as good as this, this was a great place to enjoy the view.

Larne photo album is here.

And now, one single parkrun remaining - Stormont on 24 September, the 32nd year to the day that, as BT Industrial Placement student, I went into Ward 22, Belfast Royal Victoria Hospital very ill with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Before then, it's a full week for #TimPageFitForLife:

Tuesday, in BT Riverside, there's a DKMS stem cell Donor Drive, hoping to reach our target of 100 prospective donors

On Friday, we attend the launch of LLNI's #ImStill campaign

And - keep an eye open for a series of six video interviews with people from the domains of medicine, fitness training and LLNI's research.

Come along to Stormont parkrunon the 24th if you can.

"The hills are your friend."

Tim

Project Objectives

Tim's Running Progress

"My feet are light, my legs are strong, I can keep this pace all day long!"
~ Rosy Ryan

At Waterworks - the 2nd of my 22 parkruns for Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI - I met Rosy Ryan.  Waterworks is a great open course. The day we were there, though, it rained a lot and I found it tough going.

Rosy ran with me that day and I deeply appreciated her encouraging mantra, even if I didn't have much spare breath to join in!

I spotted that Rosy was taking part in today's Laganside 10k organised by North Belfast Harriers; Ruth and I thought we'd go along to greet Rosy and Phil at the finish line.  Also with Rosy - Andrea Kearns from Pancreatic Cancer UK.

As we waited, it was great to see lots of people from NI's running community who we've met over the past 6 months. Northern Ireland really does have a great running community. It was also good to catch up with Matt Shields and parkrun news.

Rosy kindly agreed to a brief video interview.

Thanks to Rosy for encouragement and, really, inspiration - those words from Waterworks have often been in my head over these months.  A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is a tough enough road.

Rosy's JustGiving page is here.  Rosy mentions Jog Belfast - link here.

Well, what a week that was.

An exciting week in BT work, supporting the launch of BT Sport On EE:

Mid-week, I resumed running, thanks to benefits of an ongoing physio programme

Then, on Thursday, NI's Regulation & Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) Belfast Marathon runners and Office team handed over £621 to LLNI.

#TimPageFitForLife exceeded double the £5000 target for LLNI donations, with £10028 raised to date for vital research, in the same week that LLNI's Joanne Badger handed me the recent NI Institute of Fundraising nomination. 

I completed the Armagh run yesterday, with great support from BT colleagues and friends.

Armagh is a particularly beautiful course - a mix of hilly parkland and woodland.

There was a sense of close local community amongst the runners - I guess the 'further out' parkruns, not close to many other runs, tend to have a more constant attendance.

Thanks to Run Director Mark Lundy for the warm welcome.

It was great to have work colleagues Liz Leckey and Brenda Hilley along on their first parkrun.
I really appreciated BT colleague & runner Gavin McBride's pace-setting.  We alternated between 3 minutes running and 30 seconds walk.  Perhaps it was due to Gavin's guidance that I headed home with no muscle pain and hopeful for a straight run ahead through the remaining 7 venues.

Armagh photo album is here, thanks to Sarah Irwin for the amazing cake!

Next week, we're at Cookstown. 

Through August & September, as well as running and fund-raising, we'll be

1. Working with DKMS to drive up the number of prospective stem cell donors, and,
2. Producing video interviews about the role of fitness, medical care and research in preventing and treating blood cancers

As the final two months of our #TimPageFitForLife project start tomorrow... ideas, offers of support & publicity, donations and questions for the video interviews are all very welcome.

Best wishes,
Tim

Project Objectives

Tim's Running Progress

With BT Riverside Tower a mile and a half away, Ormeau was, as David Mark said the "BT home match".  I really appreciated the great support this week from many colleagues at this beautiful course on a midsummer day.  Thanks, also, to Sue from RQIA who came and ran alongside me.

Our BT posse included Gavin Raby (technology consultant), Gavin "Head Up" McBride, Raymond "Who's under 25 or 30 minutes?" Fullerton, Mark "I've just run 10 miles" Crothers and PB-seeker John Purvis.

In 52 years, I don't recall being in Ormeau Park.  It's another beautiful place - recommended for a walk or run.

From the first of the 22 parkruns, my target has simply been less than 40 minutes. However, I mentioned to Gavin and Mark that this time - with a flat course and unprecedented support - I had the PB from Limavady 35:42 in my sights.

Run Director Gerard Walls gave everyone a warm welcome.  We chatted briefly before the run and it became clear that here was someone promoting health and well-being locally. Gerard agreed to a video interview after the run before he moved on to guiding the Couch 2 5K participants arriving at Ormeau later that morning. 

Once again, I struggled to keep my head up as the run proceeded.  I seriously need to keep working at the conditioning training, including a specific focus on strengthening my trapezius muscle.  

Thanks to the Ormeau Volunteers and the posse running with me for encouragement around the course.  I was pleased, after some exertion, to have knocked 29 seconds off my PB, now down to 35:13.

After the run, with Ruth as camerawoman, we recorded this video interview.  

As a Health Promotion Specialist, Gerard works within the community, including with people facing challenging circumstances at home, work and/or some sort of trauma.  

Gerard encourages people to look at health in a holistic way - including mental, physical, emotional and environmental angles.  "It's down to resilience" and "taking life by the horns" to live life in ways that promote happiness and well-being.

Considering the demands of life and work Gerard asks "are you taking time out?"

For people in the Ormeau area, here's information on resources.  Zooming out, there is also the wider Jog Belfast initiative including Couch 2 5K and Beyond 5K. Information at UK national level is here.

The Ormeau photo album is here.

Looking forward to Antrim next week!

Project Objectives

Tim's Running Progress

237 runners today at Belfast Waterworks - the photo album is here, parkrun results here.  I was aiming for less than 40 minutes again today, and pleased with 37:05. 

It was great to have BT colleague Mark Crothers running with me again.  Last week at Victoria Park, Mark kept reminding me to keep my head up - helps breathing - and these reminders were necessary again.  Waterworks has two inclines; you go up each twice and 'small steps' is the approach to
take.  On one incline, I was finding it tough going and Mark said "Keep breathing!".  This took me straight back to the day in December 2014 when I walked into Belfast City Hospital Ward 10 North for stem cell transplant, not totally relaxed, and the admitting nurse said "All you have to do is keep breathing!"  Generally good advice.

It was also great to have Patricia McAuley and friends Heather Chestnutt, Karl & Kerri Thrower, Parkrun Jim, Eric Morrison, David Mark, Alistair Shaw and Claire Bell running today.

Rosy Ryan had been in touch before today, and I hope to catch up with Rosy about her own life and running experiences later in the year. When I found the going getting tough today, Rosy deployed a catchy mantra...

"My feet are light, my legs are strong, I can keep this pace all day long!"

On Easter Monday, I'm off to India with work for a couple of weeks, where I intend to stay fit and lose some more weight - one stone down, two stone still to go.  Below, there's the updated progress against objectives table.

I wish you a very Happy Easter, and look forward to seeing people at Bangor's Ward Park on 16 April

Project Objectives

Tim's Running Progress