<p>We will be participating in an "Adventure Trail" on an Army base in Hampshire to raise money for the The Breast Care Department, QA Hospital, Portsmouth. The "adventure" will involve us working as a team of 3 to complete 10km of trail running (this is up and down hills in sand, with obstacles to negotiate), 25km of mountain biking in similar terrain, 1.5km of kayaking and finally, just to finish us off completely, an assault course. (Every competitior must complete each of the disciplines) And all of that after the Christmas festivities!</p> <p>The Breast Care Department were able to provide great support to my friend Julie who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in May last year. She has put together a brief description of their work and her experience with them below:</p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is a designated Cancer Centre and serves a population of approximately 800,000 within the area of southern Hampshire</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">Outpatient clinics, diagnostic services, day case and surgical treatments and inpatient services are all provided for patients with cancer at QA Hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Oncology Centre has the latest linear accelerators that provide radiation therapy to cancer patients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was diagnosed with breast cancer on 19</span><span style="font-size: small;"> May 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From diagnosis through to surgery, radiotherapy and beyond, the team of friendly Breast Care Nurses were always there to answer queries and generally be a shoulder to cry on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The doctors and surgeons treat you with great respect and despite their huge workload due to an increased number of breast cancer cases in both men and women, make you feel like a person and not a number.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">The nurses even give their own time to run Health &amp; Wellbeing Clinics, which are 4 hour sessions held for post breast cancer patients on a 6 monthly and 2 yearly basis to help them cope with the longer term effects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was for this particular reason that I helped to raise money by holding a Pink Party at the Golden Lion in Fareham.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My case was done and dusted exactly 6 months to the day of diagnosis:</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Diagnosis &ndash; 19.5.11</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First Op &ndash; 14.6.11</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Second Op &ndash; 21.7.11</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Start of radiotherapy &ndash; 19.8.11</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">End of radiotherapy &ndash; 19.9.11</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">&ndash; they do what they say they are going to do, within pretty quick timescales, there is no messing about and long waiting times for treatment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Should anyone be unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with breast cancer (or any other cancer for that matter), I believe they will be in the best hands possible at the QA Hospital in Portsmouth."</span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p> <p>So please dig deep and donate now.</p>