CELIA'S TOWPATH TRUNDLE for
BREAKTHROUGH BREAST CANCER
17 - 30 October 2010
October 2010 saw me walking all the way from Ellesmere Port to Birmingham and most of the way back - 142 miles altogther along the towpaths of North-west and Midland canals.
In order to achieve my challenge, I lost two stone in weight over the summer and autumn; I also did lots of practice walks, gradually increasing the distance as, on the first day, I was to walk 20 miles. Two walks stand out as memorable - one 18 miler across Dava Moor, a bleak area north of the Cairngorms that definitely was not flat, another from Runcorn to Ellesmere Port when I fell over and, rather painfully, skidded on my face and broke a bone in my right hand. However, no way was I giving up as I was doing it for my family – all of whom have inherited the faulty BRCA2 gene which means, without intervention, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll get breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
The actual two weeks' walking along the canal towpaths was amazing and I am indebted to the crew of the Llangollen Navigator, (use of which was generously donated by Welsh Gateway Canal Holidays of Nantwich). The crew were Bob Dean, Dave Crosby and Sue James.
Because Breakthrough Breast Cancer is doing some remarkable and ground-breaking research, there’s every possibility that they, and thousands of others, may not have to endure the pain and anquish at losing loved ones that I’ve had to suffer.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer also campaigns for better treatment. A recent campaign helped increase the number of years in later life, when a woman is at greatest risk, that she can get regular screening through the NHS.
The TLC (Touch, Look and Care) Campaign has made more women aware of the early signs of breast cancer and, consequently, go for treatment at an early stage giving them a very much higher chance of survival.
So you can see, in just these few paragraphs, Breakthrough Breast Cancer is a worthy charity to support. It’s more than that though. Not only has the research benefitted breast cancer patients but the new discoveries made by Breakthrough’s scientists will benefit cancer sufferers worldwide. Find out more by visiting www.breakthrough.org.uk
If you want to sponsor me, it's not too late, and I would be so grateful.
More information about the Chester Breakthrough Breast Cancer group, of which I am a member, can be found at http://www.breakthrough.org.uk/groups/cheshire
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
