So, why have I decided to climbMount Kilimanjaro? I ask myself that everyday as I puff and pant whilst trying to climb 4 flights of stairs! I have decided to include the first posting of my blog which I have created. Please have a perusal so you can all get a better understanding of why I want to raise money for Macmillan Cancer.

My Mum was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme Brain Tumour in 2005. This type of Tumour is the highest grade glioma (grade 4) and the most malignant form of astrocytomas. Only about one out of every four patients with this type of Tumour survives for two years and they are the leading cause of death from childhood cancers among persons up to the age of 19.

I am going to take you back now to 2005 and explain how we discovered my Mum had cancer. So, I want you to lay back, take a nice sip of Wine, visualise what I am about to explain and try to imagine what you would be feeling.

You have just woken up and you are getting ready for work. It is a normal working day in your household and everybody is fighting for the bathroom. Everybody leaves the house except your Mum and Dad. Your Mum enters the room and says she has a pain in her neck and blurred vision. Your dad, who, if is anything like mine and worries about everything, decides to phone an Ambulance (and thank god he did). The Ambulance arrives but your Mum seems OK now. So, your Dad is probably not panicking at this point because the worst health scare any family member has ever had is man flu. However, your Mum enters the Bathroom and collapses.......and that is moment your life is turned upside down*.

So that was how my Mums journey with cancer began and this was what followed....

The Ambulance driver rushed my Mum to Hospital and she remained unconscious for most of the day. I was at University whilst all this was happening and 60 miles away from home. My Dad was the person who made the dreaded phone call that every daughter/son fears "Your Mum has collapsed and is in Hospital." Well, panic just ran through my body as a family member had never been rushed into Hospital before so I knew it must be serious. When I finally arrived at the Hospital my Dad came to greet me, we all burst into tears, had a hug and headed up to the ward.

Seeing my Mum lying in that Hospital bed was the worst thing I have ever seen and it still brings a tear to my eye when I think about it. She could hardly talk and it looked like she had had a Stroke. Her bottom lip kept shaking when she tried to talk and she looked petrified. I had never seen that look of fear in my Mums eyes before and I never want to see it again.

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting the Doctors finally entered the room. They diagnosed my Mum with a Brain Tumour and decided to operate to try and remove it. There were so many risks associated with the procedure because they were entering into a part of the body which operates every function we use. They warned us that there was a huge risk of my Mum becoming paralysed, or even worse, not surviving the operation. Well, I have to say the happiest moment of my life was when my Mum returned from theatre and opened her eyes, as I knew she was still with us*. I can't describe what that felt like, but it was one of the best sensations in the world and one that I have never felt since. I wanted this feeling to last forever but it soon came crashing back down when we were informed that the Brain Tumour was aggressive and we should expect the worst*, so, that is what I did.

During my Mums time in Hospital I would go home or to my friends house (Nina or Karens) and just sit there and cry. In preparing for the worst I had already given up hope and in my mind I was already planning my Mums funeral. I never imagined I could have thoughts that upsetting, but my mind had gone away with the fairies to a place that was driving me insane as I imagined a life without Mum.

So, that is how OUR journey with cancer began. In a split second my Mum collapses and within two days she is diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and given a year to live...how are you feeling now? Fancy another sip of your wine? I do!!

You possibly can’t imagine how this feels or maybe you can. Maybe you have experienced the worst case scenario each and every one of us fears. If you have not experienced it yet, prepare yourself because you will. A staggering 1 in 3 people will develop Cancer sometime during their lifetime and over a quarter of a million people within theeach year.

I would like to make it clear that my Mum has beaten all the odds and is still with us today. Her Tumour has been lying dormant for the last 4 years and will hopefully remain that way for many more to come. This is one of many success stories that should be publicised within the media to give others the hope and determination to win their battle against cancer.

 To date I have raised over £7000, 00 for cancer charities and over the next year and a half I aim to raise over another 4. So, please sponsor me, donate to my events and do anything else you can to help me reach my target, because one day the money I raise will benefit either you or somebody close to your heart.

From now, this blog will focus on my journey in raising £4000, 00 and how I am preparing myself for possibly the worst trek I'm my life....Mount Kilimanjaro!! "Oy Thom, pass me the chocolates!"

 *Note to readers: Take another sip of your wine!         

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