Thousands of pounds has been raised for a Blackburn man with an aggressive type of skin cancer after friends, family and strangers took part in a 23-mile charity walk.
Elliott Simpson, who has been diagnosed with stage four malignant melanoma, is self-funding his own skin treatment due to NHS red tape which has barred from receiving the second set of drugs needed to combat its spread.
Now, Elliott and his family are fundraising and holding charity events in order to raise around £180,000 for immunotherapy treatment, which would provide him with a better chance of survival.
On Sunday, August 21, 17 people walked 23 miles from Old Trafford to Ewood Park in order to raise money for the treatment and also raise awareness of malignant melanoma.
The walk, between the home grounds of Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, took around nine hours to complete and they managed to raise around £2,000.
Stephanie Zakrzewski, Elliott’s aunt and organiser of the walk, said it was a challenge but worth the pain.
She said: “All our legs are aching and we didn’t know how we would journey into work today – but it’s all for a good cause.
“It was tougher than we thought but we all did it which is the most important thing.
“It was also an enjoyable - how often do you get the chance to chat with a variety of different people and raise awareness of such an important issue.”
Stephanie, from Clitheroe, said people’s generosity was “overwhelming”.
She said: “People’s generosity was overwhelming.
“People who didn’t even know Elliott were emptying out their pockets and asking about the cause, as well as the risks and symptoms of malignant melanoma.
“Even if they didn’t have physical money they were scanning our QR codes to donate later.”
While Elliott wasn’t well enough to take part in the walk itself, the Rovers fan did meet the walkers at the Ewood Park finish line.
Stephanie said: “It was so good that he was able to come out and thank people personally. Some people hadn’t met him before so this was their opportunity
“He is beside himself and can’t thank people enough for their donations - he can’t believe people he doesn’t even know would do something like this for him.”
Stephanie wants to thank everyone who took part in the day and donated.
She said: “It was a tremendous effort by everybody and the majority of us were in our 50s – it was a harder challenge than we anticipated.
“I didn’t think I would finish it as I have just overcome breast cancer and the treatment has affected my joints.”
Find out more about upcoming fundraisers and charity events on Facebook page ‘Elliott can beat skin cancer’.
You can donate to Elliott’s GoFundMe here.
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