Buckingham local Oli appeals for charity marathon runners

Oli Hilsdon wants more marathon runners to volunteer for Brain tumour charity
Oli completes the London MarathonOli completes the London Marathon
Oli completes the London Marathon

A Buckingham man who was among the first people in the country to receive a pioneering medical treatment after suffering an aggressive brain tumour is urging any London Marathon runners to consider backing a brain tumour charity for the 2017 event.

Oli Hilsdon, who grew up in Buckingham and attended the Bourton Meadow and Royal Latin schools, was diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable brain tumour after suffering a seizure at just 22 years old.

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He underwent 15 months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and was then able to be among the first people in the UK to benefit from a trailblazing new treatment called immunotherapy.

To celebrate the end of treatment, Oli took on the 2016 London Marathon which he completed in an impressive three hours, 56 minutes and 21 seconds.

The feat was all the more impressive as he was finishing grueling treatment in the weeks leading up to the race.

And now the 24-year-old Oli is urging any 2017 marathon participants to perhaps consider doing the run in aid of the Brain Tumour Research charity to raise awareness about this often overlooked type of cancer.

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Oli, whose mum Jayne Hilsdon works at a pharmacy in the centre of Buckingham and has herself recently battled breast cancer, explained: “I wanted to do something to help fund research so that other people with the same diagnosis have a better chance of survival.

“It’s a sad fact that brain tumours can affect anyone at any time but no-one knows what causes them.

“Treatments for patients like me are very limited. I hope that people will help us change this by running the 2017 marathon for the Brain Tumour Research charity.”

Some 40 runners are already signed up to support the charity by seeking sponsorship for the event, on April 23, 2017, but many others who have received a sought-after ballot place are still undecided over which charity to choose.

More details about the charity are available on its website at www.braintumourresearch.org.

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