Golf day fundraiser raises thousands for… | Royal Free Charity

Golf day fundraiser raises thousands for amyloidosis research

16 September 2024 
Three men on a golf course holding golf clubs. There are two signs that say 'Lisa Shannon charity golf day'.
The Lisa Shannon charity golf day raised over £11,000 for amyloidosis research. 
A bereaved husband is fundraising in memory of his wife, who died from the rare disease amyloidosis, to help raise awareness of the condition. 

Dave Shannon’s wife, Lisa, a self-employed beauty therapist, first fell ill in 2019 and she experienced numerous hospital admissions. Despite many tests and biopsies, doctors had been unable to find the reason for her symptoms.

Following an emergency colostomy in 2020, Lisa was diagnosed with smouldering myeloma. Smouldering myeloma (also sometimes known as asymptomatic myeloma) is an early form of myeloma which usually progresses to active myeloma, but at a slow rate.

Her health continued to deteriorate, and she was finally diagnosed with amyloidosis in the summer of 2021. Sadly, her condition was quite advanced by the time she received a diagnosis, and she died before she could be seen by specialists at the National Amyloidosis Centre at the Royal Free Hospital.

Dave said: I lost my wife a couple of years ago, one of the things I’ve been wanting to do is to try and help other people who are living with amyloidosis. It’s a condition that is difficult to treat and diagnose, awareness is not great, so the more we can do through fundraising and raising awareness, will hopefully lead to a cure being found sooner.”

Dave held a fundraising golf day at the Worksop Golf Club in Nottinghamshire in August. He raised over £11,000.

Archie, Dave and Lisa’s son, said: We had twenty-three teams of four, around one hundred people in total. People have come from as far as the Isle of Wight to be here. It’s been great, we’ve had a lot of fun and it puts smiles on people’s faces.”

About amyloidosis

Amyloidosis is a rare, often fatal disease, caused by accumulation of protein fibres, amyloid, in the body.

The National Amyloidosis Centre, the UK’s specialist centre for amyloidosis treatment and research, is based at the Royal Free Hospital. The Royal Free Charity is the only UK charity directly supporting the centre. 

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