Clare Walks All Over Cancer

I have decided to take up this challenge because without Cancer Research my lovely mum's story would have been very different. My amazing mum had worked in the NHS all her working life. She qualified as a Nurse in UCL in 1969 and completed her Midwifery and Intensive Therapy Nurse qualification at the Royal London in Whitechapel. At the time there were very few 'Intensive Care' units but when the new ICU opened in the Heath in Cardiff in the 70's my mum was one of the Nurses who had been specially trained and was sent there to set up this unit. She dedicated her working life to the NHS and helping others and she was pretty good at it as well! Fast forward to January 2009 when she decided to retire - looking forward to having a little rest and spending time doing all the things she loved to do! She went for a routine mammogram at the end of January, all ok, but two weeks later she found a lump. This lump turned out to be a Stage 4 inoperable breast tumour. The prognosis then was she could have Chemo and a new drug called Herceptin and was told she would be lucky to have 2 years - it was unlikely she would make the 2012 London Olympics. It was an extremely tough time but my mum (the toughest lady I know), was amazingly brave and fought her way through. Every day she made herself get up and kept on going through awful sessions of chemo and radiotherapy. Thanks to the wonderful staff in the NHS and the new drugs that had been researched and funded she not only made it to 2012 but she has now been 8 years in remission. This is due to the fact it responded to Herceptin and could do again if it returns. So this is why I'm doing this little challenge, without the research into new drugs like Herceptin I could have been writing a different story which I'm so glad i'm not. Please help support Cancer Reserch and all the work they are doing to find more and more drugs to help beat Cancer. This, as well as being for my mum is also for all our other friends and family who have had to battle this awful disease. Please, if you could spare a pound or two, I'd be very grateful, and if you see me doing laps around the house you will now know why!! Thank you for reading my story and supporting me. Lots of Love Clare xxx