SAMAJWEEKLY = 470 10-09-2022

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10/09/2022
39
Suki’s three challenges in memory
of ‘THREE GEMS’ lost to cancer
London : A
Buckinghamshire man has
completed the first of three
gruelling challenges inspired
by ‘three gems’ who died
within 20 months of each
other.
Suki Sandhu, from Milton
Keynes, took part in the
London Duathlon on Sunday
(4 September) in aid of the
charity Brain Tumour
Research, running 10km,
cycling 44km and running a
further 10km to finish in
three hours and 27 minutes.
The father-of-three said:
“The London Duathlon is the
biggest duathlon in the
world, which I hadn’t
realised, and Richmond Park
itself is beautiful; we were
cycling and running past
deer, which was just gorgeous.
“If there was an award for
spectators, my team would
have nailed it because they
all had pink Brain Tumour
Research t-shirts on so I
could see them from miles
away. I had almost 20 family
and friends there and it was
so energising because as
soon as I saw that pink pop
up, I knew it was them.
“They spread out, too so I
had constant support and, for
my last 5km, my sons and
nephew ran part of it with
me. They were all there at the
end and there were a lot of
tears but it was really memorable.
It’s not an easy task
and to see so many great athletes,
some of them much
older, was really inspiring.”
Suki, who is a product
director for online gaming
company Inspired
Entertainment and a youth
football coach, is planning to
complete two further
endurance events for the
charity, all in memory of
three loved ones who died
recently.
Affectionately referred to
as the ‘three gems’, these
include his cousin Sarinder
‘Shindi’ Sangha and brotherin-law
Aman Sumal, both of
whom died of glioblastoma
(GBM) brain tumours, and
the wife of another of his
cousins, Tarsem ‘Rani’
Sangha, who died of ovarian
cancer.
Father-of-two Shindi, who
was also a PhD graduate, a
librarian and a former lecturer
at South and City College
Birmingham’s Bournville
Campus, died aged 59 in
March 2020 while young
father Aman, an engineer and
an identical twin from
Ruislip, West London, died
aged 36 in November 2021.
Mother-of-two Rani, who
practiced family law and was
partner at a Coventry-based
solicitor’s firm, died aged 54
in August 2021, six years
after being told she had just
six months to live.
Suki, who turns 50 later
this month, said: “We’ve lost
three beautiful loved ones but
knowing what I now do
about Brain Tumour
Research and what it’s doing
in terms of research and trying
to find a cure, makes me
want to help. I’ve known
people who have been diagnosed
with other types of
cancers, ones that are much
better funded and more widely
researched, who are fine
now and I want the same to
be true of brain tumour
patients in the future.
He added: “I don’t like to
think of families going
through so much pain when
their loved ones have been
diagnosed with this severe
disease and, instead of
spending time with them and
cherishing those memories,
they’re busy trying to find
cures. I know that Aman’s
and Shindi’s families left no
stone unturned in their effort
to save or extend their lives
and I hope that one day the
contribution we make to the
charity will go towards helping
somebody else’s family.”
Suki’s upcoming challenges
include a 160km
three-day cycling challenge
from the Golden Temple in
Punjab, India, which is one
of the holiest sites in
Sikhism, across the border
into Pakistan. There he will
visit Nankhana Sahib, the
birthplace of the founding
guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak
Dev Ji. He is aiming to do it
in November in time for
Gurpurab, which is Guru
Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday.
It will also be a historical
trip for British-born Sikh
Suki, whose grandfather was
part of the Lahore Regiment
and the British Army’s prepartition
of India and
Pakistan. Arrangements are
being made through Zaigham
Imtiaz, who runs the Lahore
Cycling Club in Pakistan,
and anyone wishing to join
Suki can message him on
Facebook. He is also planning
to run the London
Marathon in April next year.
He said: “My family
members, and especially my
mother-in-law, have been so
entrenched in grieving for
their loved ones that they’ve
not really thought about how
they can help other people,
but seva, the act of selfless
service, is such an important
part of Sikhism that I hope
this will remind us to try and
help others and soften the
grieving process for us all.”
Charlie Allsebrook, community
development manager
for Brain Tumour
Research, said: “Suki and his
family have been through
unimaginable heartbreak.
We’re so sorry for their loss
but know that, sadly, their
story is not unique. Brain
tumours kill more children
and adults under the age of
40 than any other cancer yet,
historically, just 1% of the
national spend on cancer
research has been allocated
to this devastating disease.
We’re working to change this
but it’s only by working
together that we will be able
to improve treatment options
for patients and, ultimately,
find a cure. We appreciate
Suki’s support and wish him
the best of luck with his
remaining challenges.”
Brain Tumour Research
funds sustainable research at
dedicated centres in the UK.
It also campaigns for the
Government and the larger
cancer charities to invest
more in research into brain
tumours in order to speed up
new treatments for patients
and, ultimately, to find a
cure.
The charity is the driving
force behind the call for a
national annual spend of £35
million in order to improve
survival rates and patient outcomes
in line with other cancers
such as breast cancer
and leukaemia and is also
campaigning for greater
repurposing of drugs.