Skip to content

Cancer patient runs to boost stem cell donations

Tanya GuptaSouth East
News imageDKMS UK Claudia Adolphus-Green sits in a blue treatment chair with a cannula attached to one arm. Her husband Rob Green is sitting next to her and both are facing towards the camera. Large glass doors behind them look out onto a patio, lawn and landscaped garden.DKMS UK
Claudia Adolphus-Green, pictured with her husband Rob Green, is preparing for a stem cell transplant

A woman who has been diagnosed with blood cancer three times is encouraging fellow runners to sign up as stem cell donors.

Claudia Adolphus-Green, 33, from Byfleet, Surrey, is to take part in Brooklands Parkrun on Saturday while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

The event is being organised in collaboration with blood cancer charity DKMS UK, that will help runners and supporters to register as potential stem cell donors on the day.

Adolphus-Green was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2024, weeks before her wedding.

She was preparing to move back to the UK from Australia when she noticed a lump near her collarbone during a gym session.

After returning to the UK, she underwent scans and a biopsy before being diagnosed with blood cancer in July 2024.

"I was set to get married in September," she said.

"I was married on a Friday, and by the Monday, I had started chemo – not exactly the honeymoon I had imagined."

News imageDKMS UK Claudia Adolphus-Green takes part in a road race with her husband Rob Green and other runners wearing numbered bibs. She is running near the front of the group with arms outstretched, while spectators line both sides of the route behind barriers. Flags, banners and additional runners are visible along the course.DKMS UK
Claudia Adolphus-Green said she loved sport and fitness and wanted to get back to normality

Immunotherapy drugs helped her into remission last year, but scans in March showed that the cancer had returned.

She is now preparing for a stem cell transplant next month, using cells collected while she was in remission and is undergoing chemotherapy to prepare for the procedure.

Adolphus-Green said that she wanted to get back to normality as much as she could, adding: "I don't want to just do this and just feel like I'm doing it to survive.

"I want to use my story to raise awareness, to feel like something good can come of this."

News imageDKMS UK Claudia Adolphus-Green stands on a sandy beach at sunset. The sea stretches behind her, with waves on the shoreline under an orange and yellow sky. Claudia is wearing a blue patterned top and has long, brown hair.DKMS UK
Claudia Adolphus-Green was first diagnosed with blood cancer in 2024

She said that she was "acutely aware" there were not enough people on the stem cell donor register.

The donor recruitment event is taking place at Brooklands Community Park from 09:00 BST on Saturday.

Bronagh Hughes, from DKMS UK, added: "For many people, the right stranger joining the stem cell donor register could give them a second chance at life."

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

More on this story
Related internet links