Richard Branson's 5 Rules for Good Business

 

BY Richard Branson

 

During a recent radio interview on the BBC, the host asked me what advice I would give to young people who want to start their own businesses. In the 46 years since I launched Student magazine, the world has certainly changed. The uncertain economic outlook and the relentless pace of technological advances make replicating Virgin’s success much more challenging for today’s young entrepreneur.
At Student magazine, we expressed our opposition to the Vietnam War and the Cold War; these days, governments now face the more nebulous threat of terrorism and instability in the Middle East and Africa. Back then, American and European markets were generally stable; today, the economic power of Western nations is being challenged by the fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and growth opportunities and new markets can be found around the world.
There is also marketers’ new ability to bypass traditional channels -- TV, radio and newspapers -- and build a strong following online for their companies via Twitter, Google+, Facebook and new applications such as Path and Klout. This means that most startups are able to launch with smaller marketing budgets, and that entrepreneurs can break into new markets fast. It also means that successful companies must defend their positions, because their products can go out of fashion just as quickly as they caught on.
But during the radio interview I found myself arguing that while the world may be changing quickly, the steps to building a good business have not. The five simple guidelines we followed when we started the magazine and then Virgin Music remain as valid and useful as they were in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
1. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must love what you do.
2. Be innovative: Create something different that will stand out.
3. Your employees are your best asset. Happy employees make for happy customers.
4. Lead by listening: Get feedback from your staff and customers on a regular basis.
5. Be visible: Market the company and its offers by putting yourself or a senior person in front of the cameras.
Virgin Media founded its Pioneers program to promote aspiring business people and help them to network. One of our best known pioneers is Jamal Edwards, the founder of SB.TV, an online music and lifestyle channel, whose company and business model remind me of Virgin’s in our early days.
When Edwards started out, his company was just himself and his camera; he started posting videos of rap performances for his online followers. He was doing what he loved, and soon he developed a cult following for his passionate, innovative and authentic early videos of musical events.
Once he had established a brand and a following, Edwards and his team extended SB.TV’s reach into more areas, including music and lifestyle, merchandise, clothing and even a record label. Traditional brands like Puma and Nando’s (the fast-food chain) started calling, wanting to discuss deals and endorsements.
Edwards has also made his own luck by spotting talent. In 2010 a struggling singer-songwriter sent a video to SB.TV that was accepted and placed on the company’s YouTube channel. The views kept racking up, and eventually the rapper Example offered the unsigned young singer a chance to tour with him. This was none other than Ed Sheeran, whose career was effectively launched by SB.TV.
Edwards remains very busy and very visible, promoting SB.TV and himself wherever he can -- on his website, in partnership with Google Chrome and in the media, he tells the story of his company and their dreams and successes, getting the message out. And he knows that good business depends on backing your people and being a good listener. Despite his early successes, he remains down to earth, always willing to listen and constantly trying new ventures.
If you have the right idea and execute properly, your startup’s launch date does not matter. While the business environment has changed, the basic rules remain the same. Rather than getting nostalgic about how things used to be, embrace the new opportunities and challenges available to you now.

USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour titles

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With stunning swiftness, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he dropped his fight against drug charges that threatened his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong would also be hit with a lifetime ban on Friday. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, he could lose other awards, event titles and cash earnings while the International Olympic Committee might look at the bronze medal he won in the 2000 Games.
Armstrong, who retired last year, effectively dropped his fight by declining to enter USADA's arbitration process — his last option — because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years. He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests he passed as proof of his innocence while piling up Tour titles from 1999 to 2005.
"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said. He called the USADA investigation an "unconstitutional witch hunt."
"I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999," he said. "The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today — finished with this nonsense."
USADA reacted quickly and treated Armstrong's decision as an admission of guilt, hanging the label of drug cheat on an athlete who was a hero to thousands for overcoming life-threatening testicular cancer and for his foundation's support for cancer research.
"It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and athletes," Tygart said. "It's a heartbreaking example of win at all costs overtaking the fair and safe option. There's no success in cheating to win."
Tygart said the agency had the power to strip the Tour titles, though Armstrong disputed that.
"USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles," he said. "I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours."
Still to be heard from was the sport's governing body, the International Cycling Union, which had backed Armstrong's legal challenge to USADA's authority and in theory could take the case before the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Tygart said UCI was "bound to recognize our decision and impose it" as a signer of the World Anti-Doping Code.
"They have no choice but to strip the titles under the code," he said.
USADA maintains that Armstrong has used banned substances as far back as 1996, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids as well as blood transfusions — all to boost his performance.

The 40-year-old Armstrong walked away from the sport in 2011 without being charged following a two-year federal criminal investigation into many of the same accusations he faces from USADA.
The federal probe was closed in February, but USADA announced in June it had evidence Armstrong used banned substances and methods — and encouraged their use by teammates. The agency also said it had blood tests from 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent" with blood doping.
Included in USADA's evidence were emails written by Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test. Landis' emails to a USA Cycling official detailed allegations of a complex doping program on the team.
USADA also said it had 10 former Armstrong teammates ready to testify against him. Other than suggesting they include Landis and Tyler Hamilton, both of whom have admitted to doping offenses, the agency has refused to say who they are or specifically what they would say.
"There is zero physical evidence to support (the) outlandish and heinous claims," Armstrong said. "The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of (doping) controls I have passed with flying colors."
Armstrong sued USADA in Austin, where he lives, in an attempt to block the case and was supported by the UCI. A judge threw out the case on Monday, siding with USADA despite questioning the agency's pursuit of Armstrong in his retirement.
"USADA's conduct raises serious questions about whether its real interest in charging Armstrong is to combat doping, or if it is acting according to less noble motives," such as politics or publicity, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote.
Even if UCI and USADA differ on the Tour titles, the ultra-competitive Armstrong has still done something virtually unthinkable for him: He quit before a fight is over.
It was a stunning move for an athlete who built his reputation on not only beating cancer, but forcing himself through grueling offseason workouts no one else could match, then crushing his rivals in the Alps and the Pyrenees.
"Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances," he said. "I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities."
Armstrong could have pressed his innocence in USADA's arbitration process, which would have included a hearing during which evidence against him would have been presented. But the cyclist has said he believes most people have already made up their minds about whether he's a fraud or a persecuted hero.
Although he had already been crowned a world champion and won individual stages at the Tour de France, Armstrong was still relatively unknown in the U.S. until he won the epic race for the first time in 1999. It was the ultimate comeback tale: When diagnosed with cancer, doctors had given him less than a 50 percent chance of survival before surgery and brutal cycles of chemotherapy saved his life.
Armstrong's riveting victories, his work for cancer awareness and his gossip-page romances with rocker Sheryl Crow, fashion designer Tory Burch and actress Kate Hudson made him a figure who transcended sports.
His dominance of the Tour de France elevated the sport's popularity in America to unprecedented levels. His story and success helped sell millions of the "Livestrong" plastic yellow wrist bracelets, and enabled him to enlist lawmakers and global policymakers to promote cancer awareness and research. His Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised nearly $500 million since its founding in 1997.
Jeffery C. Gervey, chairman of the foundation, issued a statement of support saying:
"Faced with a biased process whose outcome seems predetermined, Lance chose to put his family and his foundation first," Gervey said. "The leadership of the Lance Armstrong Foundation remain incredibly proud of our founder's achievements, both on and off the bike."
Created in 2000, USADA is recognized by Congress as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic sports in the United States. Its investigators joined U.S. agents during the federal investigation of Armstrong. Tygart dismissed Armstrong's lawsuit as an attempt at "concealing the truth," saying the agency is motivated by one goal — exposing cheaters.
Armstrong had tense public disputes with USADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, some former teammates and assistants and even Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France.
"He had a right to contest the charges," WADA President John Fahey said after Armstrong's announcement. "He chose not to. The simple fact is that his refusal to examine the evidence means the charges had substance in them."
Others close to Armstrong were caught up in the investigations, too: Johan Bruyneel, the coach of Armstrong's teams, and three members of the medical staff and a consultant were also charged. Bruyneel is taking his case to arbitration, while two medical team staffers and consulting doctor Michele Ferrari didn't formally contest the charges and were issued lifetime ban by USADA. Ferrari later said he was innocent.
Questions surfaced even as Armstrong was on his way to his first Tour victory. He was leading the 1999 race when a trace amount of a banned anti-inflammatory corticosteroid was found in his urine; cycling officials said he was authorized to use a small amount of a cream to treat saddle sores.
After Armstrong's second victory in 2000, French judicial officials investigated his Postal Service team for drug use. That investigation ended with no charges, but the allegations kept coming.
Armstrong was criticized for his relationship with Ferrari, who was banned by Italian authorities over doping charges in 2002. Former personal and team assistants accused Armstrong of having steroids in an apartment in Spain and disposing of syringes that were used for injections.
In 2004, a Dallas-based promotions company initially refused to pay him a $5 million bonus for winning his sixth Tour de France because it wanted to investigate allegations raised by media in Europe. Testimony in that case included former teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy, saying Armstrong told doctors during his 1996 cancer treatments that he had taken a cornucopia of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.
Two books published in Europe, "L.A. Confidential" and "L.A. Official," also raised doping allegations and, in 2005, French magazine L'Equipe reported that retested urine samples from the 1999 Tour showed EPO use.
Armstrong fought every accusation with denials and, in some cases, lawsuits against media outlets that reported them.
He retired in 2005 and almost immediately considered a comeback before deciding to stay on the sidelines — in part because he didn't want to keep answering doping questions.
"I'm sick of this," Armstrong said in 2005. "Sitting here today, dealing with all this stuff again, knowing if I were to go back, there's no way I could get a fair shake — on the roadside, in doping control, or the labs."
Three years later, Armstrong was 36 and itching to ride again. He came back to finish third in the 2009 Tour de France.
Armstrong raced again in 2010 under the cloud of the federal investigation. Early last year, he quit the sport for good, making a brief return as a triathlete until the USADA investigation shut him down.
During his sworn testimony in the dispute over the $5 million bonus, Armstrong said he wouldn't take drugs because he had too much to lose.
"(The) faith of all the cancer survivors around the world. Everything I do off the bike would go away, too," Armstrong said then. "And don't think for a second I don't understand that. It's not about money for me. Everything. It's also about the faith that people have put in me over the years. So all of that would be erased."
By JIM VERTUNO | Associated Press___
AP National Writer Eddie Pells and AP Sports Writer Dennis Passa contributed to this report.

yahoosports

How to win a Patient/Customer for life

| By Debra Beaulieu

Earlier this week, I spent a total of six hours driving to, attending and driving home from a 20-minute annual checkup, and I don't regret a second of it. As I mentioned in a previous post, my family and I relocated to a different part of Massachusetts recently. In a state where physician shortages are severe in some areas, and doctors with which you have good chemistry sometimes taking years to find, we so far haven't made any changes.That's not to say that we won't switch eventually, at least to use a pediatrician closer to home. But in general, the trip to our old Zip code is about 50 minutes, less time than any of our doctors could see us within for a same-day sick visit. And for a minor ailment one of us needed checked out sans the commute, there's a MinuteClinic about five minutes away. In addition, we have access to a patient portal to review some of our test results and email our doctors with non-urgent health questions without leaving the house.

But back to my six-hour ordeal that wasn't. I made the appointment for 11 a.m. so I'd be traveling between both bouts of rush-hour traffic. Just to be safe, I left the house at 9. New England weather being what it is, the skies had decided to make up for a month's lack of rain during a single morning commute. By 10 a.m., with my gas light on, I still hadn't reached the first rest stop on the Mass Pike. I called my doctor's office, explaining that I was fairly sure I'd be late but didn't know by how much. The receptionist, who I realized that day I've been interacting with for more than 15 years, kept a friendly, reassuring tone. "Okay, I'll let them know," she said. No irritation in her voice. No warning about having to reschedule if I didn't make it by a certain time. No threats that I'd be waiting until all of the on-time patients had been seen. Given that I was the one running indeterminably late, I would have even forgiven a little attitude, but it was a relief, if not a surprise, to encounter none. I called with another ETA when I was about 20 minutes away and got the same friendly response.

And not that I'd recommend to any patient to arrive at an appointment 20 minutes late, but with the way my arrival fell with the schedule, I barely sat long enough to get the waiting room chair warm.

The medical assistant was new since I'd last been there, but as she took my weight and blood pressure, she talked to me like we were old friends--to the extent that it felt a little odd to hear her say, "Nice to meet you," as she ushered me to a familiar exam room.

My doctor, as always, greeted me with a warm, firm handshake, this time without his semi-customary apology for keeping me waiting. Somehow, throughout the duration of my exam, we chatted about all sorts of things: the Boston Marathon, kids, the weather, updates to my family members' health status. In his trademark casual if not sneaky way, he gathered a multitude of relevant medical information. The tablet he used to record it all didn't interfere with the conversation one bit.

When it came time to have my blood drawn, he wrapped the tourniquet around my arm and wielded the needle himself, rather than sending me to the lab at the hospital next door. Of course, being distracted by easy conversation, I hardly noticed the pinch.

Obviously, we're talking about a doctor with excellent people skills. And even though he qualifies as an "older doctor," a group not traditionally known to embrace technology, he has consistently and competently adopted several technologies over the years. A decade or so ago, he was one of my first providers to reference a PDA with me in the room, and later to beam my prescriptions to the pharmacy electronically and now to seamlessly update my electronic health record with a clipboard-sized tablet.

This progressiveness, combined with an old-fashioned, direct approach to medicine and the physician-patient relationship, are qualities that are rare to find in one physician.

I may be very unlucky with traffic (the three hours after the appointment had more to do with collecting my children from a friend's house they didn't want to leave and managing the crisis of Dunkin' Donuts being out of chocolate Munchkins), but I seemingly hit the doctor lottery.

Trust me, though, that the objective of this commentary isn't to put any one human being on a pedestal. No doctor is perfect, and neither is mine. But what I hope you take away from this story is a lesson in patient loyalty. I'm a classic example of an overextended working mom, and there are a lot of other ways I could've used that time I spent listening to my four-year-old explain that one is supposed to drive--and not park--on the highway.

A recent article from Medscape Today discusses ways physicians can prevent other doctors from "stealing" their patients. A lot of the advice, understandably, has to do with maintaining collegial, respectful relationships with other doctors. While I agree with this and recommend you read the whole article, it is my genuine, unprofessional opinion that exceptional patient loyalty starts with your relationships with patients. - Deb (@PracticeMgt)

Read more: How to win a patient for life - FiercePracticeManagement http://www.fiercepracticemanagement.com/story/how-win-patient-life/2012-04-25?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz1tn4piXDD
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Summary:

·         The Patient/customer is the reason you are in practice/business. Your time revolves around him.

·         You can't delegate the core aspects of your profession/practice/business. I just learnt of a hospital where the pharmacists 'cost' the prescriptions, while the technicians dispense and 'handover' the drugs to the patients. You know what will happen next.

·         Let your interest in the patient/customer transcend the money you will collect from him.

·         without you present, your pharmacy/hospital is just another shop. The more you are absent, the more  it becomes ordinary.

·          where you can't differentiate your product/service/practice from others, differentiate yourself

·         Embrace technology.

• YOU are the most visible and effective signpost to your business.

Australia cigarette plain packaging law upheld by court

Australian cigarette packets may soon look like this

 

Australia's new cigarette packaging rules have put big manufacturers against the government

Australia's highest court has upheld a new government law on mandatory packaging for cigarettes that removes brand colours and logos from packaging.

The law requires cigarettes to be sold in olive green packets, with graphic images warning of the consequences of smoking.
Leading global tobacco manufacturers, including British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, had challenged the law.
The new packaging rules are scheduled to be implemented from 1 December 2012.
"At least a majority of the court is of the opinion that the Act is not contrary to (Australia's constitution)," the court said in a brief statement.
The full judgement is expected to be published on a later date.

'Still a bad law'
The law was passed by the government last year. Authorities have said that plain packaging of cigarettes will help reduce the number of smokers in the country.
However, tobacco manufacturers have argued that removing their brand names and company colours from packets will lead to a drastic cut in profits.
They have also warned that it may result in fake products entering the market.
"It's still a bad law that will only benefit organised crime groups which sell illegal tobacco on our streets," said Scott McIntyre, spokesman for British American Tobacco (BAT) Australia.
Sonia Stewart, spokesperson for Imperial Tobacco, added that "the legislation will make the counterfeiters' job both cheaper and easier by mandating exactly how a pack must look".
Cigarette manufacturers have also claimed that the law is unconstitutional and infringes on their intellectual property rights by banning the use of brands and trademarks.
However, BAT's Mr McIntyre said the firms will comply with the new rules.
"Even though we believe the government has taken our property from us, we'll ensure our products comply with the plain packaging requirements and implementation dates."

'Deluge of legislation'
Australia's new tough packaging laws are the first of their kind to be implemented in the world.
However, many other countries such as New Zealand, India, the UK and even some states in the US have been contemplating taking similar measures in a bid to reduce the number of smokers.

As a result, the case between the government and the cigarette makers was being watched closely all across the globe.

Jonathan Liberman, director of the McCabe Center for Law and Cancer, said the ruling was likely to give a boost to other countries looking to take similar steps.
"It shows to everybody that the only way to deal with the tobacco industry's claims, sabre rattling and legal threats is to stare them down in court," he said.
The BBC's Sydney correspondent Duncan Kennedy said the decision may have global ramifications for the cigarette makers.
"Whilst Australia might be a relatively small cigarette market, tobacco companies know that losing here could lead to a deluge of legislation elsewhere in their really big markets."
BBCnews.

Ronaldinho Sips From Pepsi Can, Loses $750,000 Coca-Cola Sponsorship

Ronaldinho hasn't had much luck so far in 2012. The fallen star of Brazilian soccer is involved in an ugly legal dispute with a former club, while spotty on-field form has ended his Olympic dream.
Things got worse on Monday, as Coca-Cola terminated a lucrative sponsorship deal with the former superstar after he was seen drinking Pepsi at a news conference, Xinhua reports.
"Coca Cola recognizes the career and the value of Ronaldinho," the beverage giant said in a statement. "However due to recent developments it has become impossible to continue the partnership."
Ronaldinho was speaking to the press about an upcoming game with his new club Atletico Mineiro. Two cans of Pepsi were placed on the table in front of him, and the 32-year-old sipped from one of them.
Marketers at Coca-Cola were understandably upset, and they ended the company's partnership with the former Brazil and FC Barcelona star. Ronaldinho was earning $750,000-a-year from the endorsment deal, which was scheduled to run until 2014.
He left Brazilian club Flamengo in June after filing a lawsuit against the club for unpaid wages. The risky move backfired, as the club launched a counter-suit. The affair will be settled in a Brazilian court, but the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year has seen his reputation suffer.
Ronaldinho was only a free agent for four days before he joined Atletico Mineiro. It is a far more modest club than Flamengo, which estimates that it has over 35 million fans.
Coca-Cola had been tracking the player's progress, and the company had grown fed up with his antics. The Pepsi incident merely sealed the decision that had been under consideration for some time.
"That was the last straw for the company but I don't think it was the only reason," Xinhua reports ESPM marketing manager Marcelo Pontes told Estadao. "He didn't perform up to expectations and his name was associated more with negative than positive news."
Ronaldinho dazzled fans around the world for over a decade, but it seems that his star has lost a bit of luster.

For 6 months, trainer unaware Pistorius had no legs

OLYMPIAN: Pistorius, who runs with carbon fiber prosthetic running blades, had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a congenital condition that meant he was born without fibulae — lower leg bones. (Photo: Antonin Thuillier/AFP)

For six months, the personal fitness trainer for Oscar Pistorius, who became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics, did not know his client did not have legs, he said Thursday.

Jannie Brooks, who has trained the South African known as the "Blade Runner" for almost a decade, said he had no clue when the athlete approached him alongside other high school teenagers for training.

"He trained with me for about six months before I knew he didn't have legs... because he was doing everything at the same pace as everybody else, no excuses for not making any exercises, he was doing it flat out.

"And at the time he started to train, it was in winter so they always had tracksuit pants on. So we trained hard ... we did explosive training ... and only once we did one exercise and he didn't go as deep as the other guys.

"I said listen you have to go a little deeper and he told me 'listen, that's the max I can go' and I said why and he said 'all right, this is my story'."

To his surprise, young Pistorius was on prostheses.

"I couldn't believe it."

Pistorius, who runs with carbon fiber prosthetic running blades, had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a congenital condition that meant he was born without fibulae — lower leg bones.

At first, Pistorius played contact sports at school, but when the sportsman fractured a knee playing rugby he took to track running, and has never looked back.

He is targeting to break the 45-second barrier in the 400m at the Olympics.

He competed in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympics.

Brooks and Pistorius' father, Henke are both rooting for him in London.

"I think he has a good chance. To get where he is at the moment is an amazing achievement, that is hard work and I think his chances are very good," said Brooks.

"For him to have qualified... is already an amazing thing. His chances are good," said the father.

The 25-year-old is set to compete in both the 400m and the 4x400m relay.

He is clear to compete on condition he uses the same prosthetic legs that have been used in Paralympic sport since 1996.

On the controversy that his blades give him an advantage over able-bodied athletes, Brooks said, if anything, his muscles have to work harder than runners on biological legs.

"His leverage on his legs is a lot shorter, actually it's the muscles that do the work," said Brooks.

His father, who will watch him run on Saturday, dismissed as "stupid" the notion his blades make him run better than others.

"It's stupid to even think like that. How can blades, which are latent, be something that generates power. It works against the ethics of science, you can't put something in and get more back," he said.

When he is not running, he drives fast cars.

"He likes fast cars. Every time he comes here, he's got another car," said Brooks outside the gym, a converted garage filled with training equipment.

"He is just built for speed, because the cars have an amazing performance... that I think is his hobby."

Copyright 2012 AFP Global Edition

Stiliyan Petrov: Aston Villa captain's leukaemia in remission

 

Aston Villa have announced that captain Stiliyan Petrov is in remission and winning his battle against leukaemia.

"It is with great delight that we can confirm on behalf of our long-standing captain, Stiliyan Petrov, that Stan's acute leukaemia is in remission," said an official Villa statement.

"Stan's fight is not over. There will be further battles to overcome in the days, weeks and months ahead.

"But he would like to share with you this tremendous news now."

Petrov, who was first diagnosed with acute leukaemia in March, has undergone four months of chemotherapy, during which he was kept in his role of club captain by new Villa manager Paul Lambert.

But his latest medical tests have brought the 33-year-old Bulgarian his happiest news yet.

"Stan would like to take this opportunity to express his deep gratitude to the medical staff who have looked after him so well since his condition was diagnosed just over four months ago," continued the club statement.

"He also wishes to place on record again his profound sense of appreciation for the incredible outpouring of love and support he has received from Villa fans, his team-mates and colleagues at the club, as well as football fans and many more people around the world.

"He and his family have been moved by the depth of feeling stirred in so many people and he has taken great strength from it, too.

"On Stan's behalf, the club would like to thank everybody for continuing to respect Stan's privacy and his family's throughout his ongoing battle against acute leukaemia and for those who have raised awareness of the condition. Stan remains very committed to this crusade going forward."

What is leukaemia?

Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. Symptoms include pale skin, tiredness, breathlessness and susceptibility to infection. Acute leukaemia means the condition progresses aggressively and needs immediate treatment.
On average 2,500 adults are diagnosed with acute leukaemia in the UK each year, according to Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research
BBCsports.