Story
5k muddy obstacle course to raise funds for cancer research on Sat 2nd Sept 2017 #TeamPrettyPiggies Our loved ones face a cancer battle at this exact moment; with my husband's father fighting kidney cancer, it has effectively stopped time for an entire family. Many of #TeamPrettyPiggies are currently supporting their loved ones right now through their cancer battle, or have done, or have lost someone to the disease. If you are considering whether we need more money for cancer research, look around you... I think it's important to know how random this can be and the insidious nature by which this disease is a plague of the body AND mind. My name is Dee.... I don't sunbathe, (never have due to my "ginger genes"?!) and have no interest in it. I've always worn factor 50+ in any kind of sunshine. Yet in April 2016 I diagnosed with stage 1B melanoma on my back... In an area that is almost always covered, and there is no history of skin cancer in my family. This diagnosis resulted in a large chunk of flesh being removed from the centre of my back between the shoulder blades, cut right down to the fascia (look it up, it's deep... And gross!) I ended up with 42 stitches (internal and external), and months of back spasms, pain and physio. I was told they "got it all", but yet I have to check my lymph nodes every month for cancer, have checkups for someone else to check for cancer every 3 months for 3 years, and then every 6 months for another 2 years. I no longer enjoy being outside on a sunny day in the same way, as skin cancer is always on my mind when I feel the sun on my skin. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and rightly so, it still scares the life out of me! I followed every guideline you'd expect and still got melanoma. Recently a bio immune drug found through RESEARCH, was found to reverse & CURE melanoma. If you think research doesn't make a difference, think again. Please donate whatever you can, or get PRETTY MUDDY with us!