Not many of us would contemplate the rigour of cycling the 450 km from London to Paris for charity, but for Yasmin Ashburnham of Rye this comes with an added challenge. In 2022 she was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable blood cancer called myeloma and is taking on the Myeloma UK London to Paris Ride on 14 to 18 May, to raise funds and spread awareness of the disease and its symptoms.
“I was ill constantly for months with repeated chest infections, fatigue, weakness and anaemia but thought it was probably because I was a busy mum and it was not long after Covid,” she says. “Then one day I collapsed suffering from sepsis and had to be put into an induced coma in intensive care for four days. My persistent symptoms were very much like many other conditions, so the cancer was not picked up on until after I went into septic shock.”
Myeloma affects plasma cells, the type of white blood cells that normally fight infections. When these become cancerous, they produce abnormal antibodies resulting in an immune system that no longer works effectively to fight infections. Because this cancer is most common in men over 60 and early symptoms can be put down to other conditions, Yasmin, at 42, was not diagnosed quickly.
The sepsis left Yasmin very weak and she then had to undergo six-month long treatment for her cancer followed by a stem cell transplant in June 2023. In part due to her age and healthy lifestyle, she has always been active and regularly cycled, she is now in remission and determined to make the most of life. “Myeloma is incurable but very treatable and described as a relapse-remitting cancer with periods of treatment followed by periods of remission. By doing this cycle ride I want to set a good example to my children, to show them something positive can come out of the toughest chapters in life. They were very young when I was diagnosed, just six and nine.”
Yasmin has been training both indoors and outside increasing the length of her rides. “The more I do, the more I enjoy it,” she says. The London to Paris ride will include about 120 people, cycling for between five and seven hours a day. They will be divided into two groups to accommodate riders with different fitness levels.
“I am extremely grateful to my husband, children, family and friends for all their support and to Myeloma UK who bring people with the disease together for positive support. I am aiming to raise £5,000 for the charity to help them in their work to find a cure. I am determined to achieve this,” says Yasmin.
You can donate to Yasmin’s ride on the Ride Myeloma website here or on her Instagram page @yazmyelomaride.
More information about the work that Myeloma UK does to find a cure and to support patients and their families can be found here.
Image Credits: Yasmin Ashburnham .