I have decided to run the Royal Parks half marathon to raise money for Breast Cancer. Before you delete this e mail please take two minutes to read it quickly. Ten years ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully the lump was caught early and despite numerous operations she made a full recovery. Two years ago she had another scare which after investigations thankfully proved to be a false alert. The emotions and memories however of what happened ten years ago were brought back as a horrible reminder of just how terminal this illness can be. I am sure you all know someone who has suffered with cancer. Recently my friend's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and has just gone through radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Listening to his stories about how her health deteriorated during the procedure was so very upsetting. I have therefore decided to get off my fat bum and do something meaningful to try and raise some money for Breast Cancer. I am training to run a half marathon on October 11th and would ask you please to dig deep and donate as much as you can to the charity. I have created a website to make it easy. Details are at the bottom of this mail. Please please please even if its only small can you make a donation. I have set a rather aggressive target of £10,000 I would like to try and raise. You can donate on the website anonymously if you would prefer. Thankfully my Mum has survived this but lives in constant fear of it returning. A lot of people are not as fortunate and lose their battle. Remember a cure for breast cancer is a cure for all cancers. When I decided to do this run I looked on the net for someone's own breast cancer story to include with this e mail. I found a story about Emma Duncan who is only 33. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer twice in the past four years, once in each breast. Her first treatment was a lumpectomy with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Her second treatment included a full mastectomy, removing both breasts, followed by reconstructive plastic surgery. Emma is only 33 years old. What amazes me the most is how upbeat she is in the story for someone who has been through so much. Can I please ask you to read her story below and be as generous as you can in donating. Every little pound really does make a difference. Augy

"I asked my GP if there was any screening programme that they could put me into when I was 25, because my mother had died from breast cancer when she was 32. They referred me to the Royal Victoria Infirmary and I used to come once a year just for a check-up. A few years later I was in the bath and I noticed a lump under my left armpit. I didn’t quite know what to make of it; I was quite worried at first. I went to see my GP the next day and he suspected that it might just be a cyst because I was only 28 at the time, but because of my family history, they did a referral anyway. At the hospital I had an ultrasound, a mammogram and a needle biopsy. When I returned a week later for the results, they confirmed that I did have breast cancer and that I would need to come in for lumpectomy surgery 10 days later. I had chemotherapy for six months after my first diagnosis, followed by five weeks of radiotherapy. It was really, really hard. All my hair fell out and it made me feel so ill. My husband Graham was great, he tried to support me as best he could throughout it, my sister-in-law was never off the phone, and my best friend Claire was lovely. My sister handled it in a very different way; she had watched my mum become very, very poorly and then her older sister was diagnosed. She found it hard to deal with and she just couldn’t handle coming to see me. She later admitted being terrified that it might be her next. The second time I was diagnosed, I had a bigger operation, a double mastectomy. The decision to have a mastectomy was quite easy to make, for me the only decision when you’ve had cancer twice. The reality after the event was much different. With the reconstructive surgery as well, I knew it would be a long recovery, but I don’t think anything prepared me for just how long. I cried every single day because I was so uncomfortable. I was referred to a psychologist who told me I wasn’t going mad. Anybody who had been through what I had would be expected to have a few tearful days. Things settled down, then it was just a case of trying to get back to normal. Looking back at everything I wouldn’t have changed my decision at all, it was definitely for the best. I now have check-ups every six months, I see my oncologist, my breast surgeons and the family clinic. I’m seen quite regularly. I see my plastic surgeon, my geneticist and have an ultrasound once a year, plus a blood test every four months as part of the ovarian screening programme. I’m very well looked after! Now I just want to stay cancer-free. I’ve done as much as I possibly can to prevent it from coming back or getting a new cancer. I didn’t quite make it after my first diagnosis, but I’d like to hit my five-year point.