UEA Hero to Conquer the London Marathon after Battling Leukaemia

UEA graduate Julian Pickering battled with cancer and won and now plans to beat the London Marathon against the odds to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Julian, 23, was diagnosed with Leukaemia at the age of 17 and was hospitalised for 5 months. His chances for survival were just 40%.

But after a long struggle, Julian recovered and is now preparing for the 26 mile Shine Marathon in September.

The UEA grad said: "Ffifteen years ago a lot of people I don’t know walked and cycled and jumped out of planes to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and for Leukaemia, and they are the reason that I am alive.”

Unfortunately Jacob Barnes was not so fortunate and sadly passed away last year. This is what inspired Julian to walk the London Marathon to raise £2500 for Cancer sufferers across the UK, and to wear Jacob’s name on his shirt as he did so. 

Julian has valiantly said that, “until the survival rate is 100%, the job is not done,” and therefore he hopes to raise a further £5000 for Cancer Research UK.

He will be walking the London Marathon amongst the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and Will Young.

But, unlike them, Julian suffers from arthritic ankles and the long term effects of chemotherapy making the challenge even tougher.

Before diagnosis, Julian had been ill for 4 months with symptons synonymous with flu. He has said that, “after months of losing weight and the colour in my cheeks and feeling the cold all the time, I was referred to a specialist.”

Julian was diagnosed almost immediately and was in hospital within 3 days.

He missed one year of school at St Edmunds in Canterbury yet returned to complete his A Levels to earn his place at UEA, where he graduated last year.

“The real problem about being in hospital for so long is that the world doesn’t stop for you.”

"You are in a bubble which is keeping you alive but stopping you from truly living," he added.

On September 29, Julian will be walking alongside an expected 30,000 people who shall all be raising money for charity.

Each year nearly 300,000 people are diagnosed with Cancer in the UK and over 7,000 people are diagnosed with Leukaemia. More than 1 in 3 people will develop some form of Cancer in their lifetime.

To sponsor Julian and help him achieve his target, visit www.justgiving.com/JulesVLeuk or join the Facebook group 'Help Defeat Leukaemia.'