Jenny's Walking Challenge

Thank you for visiting my Fundraising Page. The money I raise will help fund life-saving research and to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. I have had to face cancer five times, starting when I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a blood cancer, at the age of 19. The very high dose radiotherapy that I received then, to most of my body, undoubtedly saved my life. It also caused a number of late effects and late cancers. I have had breast cancer 4 times since, had 2 mastectomies and had chemo twice. I've had over 10 operations, take lots of long term medications and have lost my hair, or some of my hair, on several occasions. I have had my spleen removed and have an under-active thyroid, a leaky heart valve and chronic fatigue. I had to give up being a practising vet a few years ago, and I now only work part time in the kennels and cattery which my husband Duncan and I have run together for 32 years. Despite all this, I am grateful to have survived to the age of 60 and hope to last a bit longer than that. Unfortunately those who came before me, even just 10 years before my diagnosis, were not so lucky as no effective treatment was available then. I have been able to have children, grandchildren and a career, all thanks to research constantly finding new treatments so that more cancers are curable. Early detection and research are what has kept me alive and I want to raise money to help these continue. I would also like to raise awareness of the late effects which people who were treated for cancer many years ago may now suffer, and what screening programmes would help to detect these effects. In the past I have raised money for Cancer Research UK by taking part in Trek China in 2000, a 100km sponsored walk along the Great Wall of China. That really was a challenge! I have also taken part in the Race for Life twice. These days I do not have the energy levels to undertake anything like that but as I am aware of walking being the best form of exercise for my heart, I plan to do a series of shorter walks spread over a longer period. I may not be able to do much more than what many people would regard as a Sunday afternoon stroll, but I will give it my best efforts. The challenge I have set myself is to walk 100 miles. That's not including my usual mileage, that's 100 extra miles specifically to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. If you feel that you could donate anything towards this very good cause, which affects so many, I would be very grateful. I will keep you posted about my progress! Thank you.