I’m taking part in The JLF Trek & Trail Run to raise awareness for the early detection and prevention of bowel cancer.

The people you meet through work can unexpectedly become some of the most important people in your life. Case in point - I met Nick Blight in 2011, and I have no doubt he would have been a lifelong friend if bowel cancer hadn’t taken him from us in 2021.

Nick was one of those people that got along with everyone – genuinely curious and interested, always ready for a chat, quick with a bit of banter, and so well regarded by our events industry colleagues. His main character flaw was that he was a die-hard Kangaroos supporter! He left behind his wife, my beautiful friend and former colleague Tegan (I’ll always claim partial credit for setting them up, but that’s another story!), and their young son, Riley.

On Saturday, May 16 this year, pretty much five years to the day since we lost Nick (and in the year he would have turned 40) Tegan and I will walk 37km through McLaren Vale with the Jodi Lee Foundation. We’re doing it in his memory, but also in hope that through awareness, education and early detection, other families won’t have to experience the same heartbreak.

The confronting reality is that bowel cancer is currently the leading cancer killer of Australians aged 25 to 49. The hopeful reality? If detected early, up to 99% of bowel cancers can be successfully treated or even prevented.
So I’m asking two things:
💡 Learn the symptoms, have the conversations, don’t ignore the signs.
💡 Consider donating to our trek. Every contribution helps fund life-saving awareness and prevention programs, and will motivate us to keep putting one foot in front of the other for the whole 37kms!

We’ll be thinking of Nick every step of the way, the life he should still be living and all the things he should still be here to do. If you’d like to support us, we’d be incredibly grateful.