Man runs from Ewloe to Bristol to fund wife's cancer treatment

A man whose wife has cancer has completed a four-day run to raise money to fund her treatment in the US.

Kelly Pendry, 42 from Ewloe, Flintshire, was diagnosed with terminal uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2021.

Her husband Michael raised £70,000 by running 145 miles (233 km) from Ewloe to the office where he first met his wife in Hanham, Bristol.

"I did it for Kelly. I'd do anything for her," Mr Pendry said after completing the challenge.

Speaking to BBC West, he said: "It's really important she gets the right treatment she needs because I don't want her to go anywhere."

Mr Pendry was accompanied by friend John Fielding on the run, which they completed on Sunday.

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare form of cancer, affecting 600 people in the UK each year.

Money raised with the run will fund the treatment which is currently not available in the UK on the NHS.

It is hoped Mrs Pendry will be able to have a hysterectomy in the US and also take part in the trial of a two-stage chemotherapy process.

The treatment involves surgically removing cancerous tumours before delivering high doses of heated chemotherapy drugs to the abdomen that targets any remaining cancerous cells.

"Whatever we say is nothing against the NHS, because they are lifesavers and without them Kelly wouldn't be here," said Mr Pendry.

Each day Mr Pendry and Mr Fielding began running at 05:30 GMT and finished at 21:30 GMT, stopping for a break at various check points.

Mr Pendry spent three-and-a-half months training for the challenge, building up from shorter 5km (3-mile) runs to longer 40km (24-mile) runs.

"I'm not a natural runner," said Mr Pendry when he announced the challenge on Facebook in 2022.

"Kelly supported me with helping me with the right food, getting me up in the morning, motivating me to run when I didn't want to."

Mrs Pendry said: "I thought even if he doesn't raise a penny and he goes and does this insane run with purely the intention to save my life, even if I die tomorrow, gosh what a legacy that is.

"The kids to go, 'That's what my dad was prepared to do for our mum', that's what they will grow up with so that's enough."

Mr and Mrs Pendry now hope the treatment in the US can begin in the summer.

Mrs Pendry's initial symptoms, including prolonged periods and a swollen stomach, appeared in 2016, but she was not diagnosed with cancer until November 2021 following a lung biopsy.

By this stage, Kelly was told her cancer was stage four and terminal.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which provides NHS services in North Wales, said it was sorry to hear about Mrs Pendry's difficulty getting an accurate diagnosis.

It said it would "encourage her to contact her GP practice, which is an independent contractor of the health board, so her concerns can be investigated".

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