In 2011 I had a benign tumour removed from my abdomen. During the 8 days I was in hospital, I was visited by a very helpful and lovely MacMillan nurse. She gave me advice and reassurance and made a daunting situation a little easier to deal with. Two things stayed with me from those encounters. The first was that I previously had no idea that MacMillan help those suffering from benign tumours (which bring with them their fair share of fun & games, for which my time in the HDU and the permanent scar that runs from one hip to the other, will attest). I, as many people do, assumed that they are purely for the support of those with cancer (and their relatives). The second thing was that if I had felt the benefit of her help & reassurance, when I was in the fortunate situation where my tumour had been benign, how valuable her assistance and reassurance must be when things are more serious.

So, when I thought about doing something inspirational to raise money for charity, I wanted to do it for MacMillan, for my nurse Jane and all the other amazing MacMillan staff and nurses, to do my bit to say "thank-you" and to help support their invaluable work so that someone else may benefit from their help when they need it most.

Why Ben Nevis? Well, I'm nearly 40 and I wanted to do something that will really challenge me, physically and mentally, not just on the day (night!) but for the next five months as I train. I wanted to do something inspirational, to make my children proud of their mum and to see that they can achieve anything if they set their minds to it - and to remind myself that so can I!

Thank-you for looking at my page - please do consider sponsoring such a worthwhile cause. 😊

** Please note: It costs MacMillan £120 to enter me in this challenge but I shall be covering this cost myself, so all the money that goes to them from my sponsorship will go towards their work. **

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.