SUFFERERS of a rare cancer took on a walking challenge on Sunday to raise funds for the fight against the little-known illness.

People diagnosed with myeloma – a cancer which kills one in every five patients within 60 days of diagnosis - and family members who support them trekked two miles along the River Severn.

The event, which raised almost £800 for the national charity Myeloma UK, was organised by the Worcestershire Myeloma Support Group.

Duncan Henderson, a Myeloma sufferer who founded the support group, said: “This walk, organised by one of our members Andrew Morley, is the first event we have run and was a great way to raise publicity of the illness and cancer.

“It also helped drive donations to the national charity and was a chance for people to socialise and get a bit of fresh air.

The Kidderminster man set up the support group to provide a place where local sufferers and carers could “come together and share their experiences”.

“When I was first diagnosed there wasn’t anywhere locally where my wife and I could share what we were going through – we wanted to establish a destination where those thoughts and worries could be aired”, he added.

Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a cancer arising from plasma cells, a type of white blood cell which is made in the bone marrow. Plasma cells form part of the immune system and in myeloma these plasma cells become abnormal, multiply uncontrollably and release only one type of antibody – known as paraprotein – which has no useful function. Unlike many cancers, myeloma does not exist as a lump or tumour and most of the medical problems related to the illness are caused by the build-up of the abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow and the presence of paraprotein in blood or urine.

Myeloma affects multiple places in the body such as the spine, skull, pelvis, the rib cage, long bones of the arms and legs and the areas around the shoulders and hips.

4,700 people are diagnosed with the cancer every year in the UK – a rate of 13 each day – but thankfully more research, new treatments, better awareness and quicker diagnosis mean survival rates have increased at a faster rate in myeloma than any other cancer.

To donate to the Worcestershire Myeloma Support Group’s fundraising challenge visit justgiving.com/WorcesterMyeloma