On April 6th 2025, alongside her mum Jenni and dad Nick, Ella ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise funds for our vital work.
This time last year, Ella could “barely walk up the stairs”.
But on April 6th 2025, alongside her mum Jenni and dad Nick, ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise funds for our vital work.
In 2022, Ella Burns noticed her finger was swollen and struggled to bend it properly. Thinking it would eventually go away, around two years passed, and it grew more painful. Ella finally visited her GP, who referred her for further tests. Initially, doctors believed it to be a simple fracture or arthritis, but she was sent for a biopsy at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham.
Eventually, Ella was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma at just 19 years old and was admitted for treatment at Weston Park Cancer Centre in Sheffield, where she underwent eight months of chemotherapy and a finger amputation.
Today, Ella is one year cancer-free and celebrated this milestone by taking part in a challenging half marathon.
Just under two weeks after the launch of their London Landmarks Half Marathon fundraising page, the family raised over £5,000, an incredible achievement to commemorate the anniversary of Ella completing treatment.
Ella Burns, first-year biological sciences student, says :
Taking part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon was a challenge that we really enjoyed doing for the Bone Cancer Research Trust. It’s a charity that means a lot to me and my parents, following my Ewing sarcoma diagnosis in 2023, and we want to do all we can to help progress
treatment for others.
To have been able to celebrate one year cancer-free by doing something that seemed unimaginable not long ago is incredible, and I’m so happy to have raised money for such an amazing cause! Training was tough but really rewarding, and the very generous donations received was a great motivation.I hope my story helps give people the confidence to get things checked out even if they think it might be nothing. You know your body, and if something’s not right it’s always worth it to make that appointment.
We’re all so overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone that’s helped us raise this money.”
Laura Franklin, Challenge Events Fundraising Officer at the Bone Cancer Research Trust, added:
On behalf of everyone at the charity, we are incredibly proud of Ella’s fantastic progress and determination to complete a half marathon just a year after being declared cancer-free. The funds raised will go such a long way to supporting our patients and their families when they need us most.
There’s still time to support Ella’s fundraising efforts:
Ella and dad
