Press release posted 9 March 2022

 

A charity fundraiser is set to tackle the gruelling staircases of a Manchester skyscraper for his husband who is being treated for incurable blood cancer.

Rich Flukes, 50, will run up the 46 floors of Manchester’s Beetham Tower for his husband Matt, 47, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2017 and treated at The Christie.

Rich, who lives with Matt and their 2 children in Timperley, is hoping to beat his personal best time of 7 and half minutes when he takes on the 798 steps (ascending 171 meters) in the tower run on Sunday 10 April. 

Rich, who works as a sales director, said: “This will be the third time I’ve done the tower run and I’ve been training hard to try and beat my best time. It is way tougher than you’d expect but it is a great event and I’m proud to support the charity for Matt.
“Four years ago, The Christie became a big part of our family’s life when Matt received a stem cell transplant, meaning we spent many weeks there.
“The impact The Christie has had on me has been profound, the work they do, day in day out, is outstanding. Both in research into eradicating cancer and the care the staff give to patients and their families.
“The Christie charity supports both these vital areas and I’ve seen first-hand how that money goes towards helping patients in all kinds of ways.”

Josh Hughff, sporting events officer at The Christie charity, said: “We’re thrilled Rich is once again taking part in the tower run for Matt. Rich is a seasoned professional these days but I’m sure he will agree it never gets any easier.
“We’re looking forward to cheering Rich on as he looks to scale the heights with all the other people who are taking part and it is certain to be a great day at one of Manchester’s most iconic landmarks.
“The tower run is a really great event and is much more challenging than people imagine. However, the view at the top is well worth the effort and it is a great atmosphere on the day.”

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England. 

To find out more about the Tower run and what other events The Christie has lined up this year, please visit the fundraising section of our website.