In November 2011, I was given the devastating news that I had throat cancer and would need immediate surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I felt as though my world had collapsed and more than anything, I hated the burden of worry that I placed on my family, particularly my children, Alex and Josh. I was told that the treatment required to save my life would be harsh, gruelling and painful, and that in addition to chemotherapy, I woud have to attend the Cancer Centre every single weekday from January 3rd 2012 for a period of 6 weeks to receive radiotherapy in a hard plastic mesh mask, specially moulded to fit the shape of my face, which would then be tightly secured, with me in it, to a radiotherapy table, as it was imperative that my head and neck were kept completely still throughout the radiation emission to kill the cancer cells. Being claustrophobic and suffering from chemo induced nausea and sickness, and with difficulty breathing due to the surgery, the mask was completely terrifying and I thought I would never be able to endure the treatment that I needed to save my life. But I am now in remission and living life to the full, having successfully completed both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, thanks to a small team of dedicated healthcare professionals at the Sussex Cancer Centre, who refused to give up on me and who got me through-wonderful nurses, radiographers,doctors, speech therapists, dieticians, and of course my oncologist, ENT consultant and specialist nurses. Without these people I would not be here today.

And so I want to give something back. And that is why I am taking myself very much out of my comfort zone - to go trekking in Jordan - walking up to 8hours a day across the Jordanian desert in the heat and dust and over difficult terrain. I want to raise funds for the three organisations that treated me - MacMillan Cancer Support, Sussex Cancer Fund and The Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust - who have joined forces to create the Sussex MacMillan Cancer Support Centre, which will open its doors in Brighton in 2015 for EVERYONE living in Sussex who is affected by cancer.

My fellow trekkers and I are hoping to raise enough money to pay the running costs of the new centre in its' first year.

Ambitious? Yes. Achievable? Yes. - With your encouragement, love, support and generosity.

Please do something AMAZING today - sign up and give generously! 

I am self funding the costs of my Jordan trek which means that every single penny will go directly to the cause and will make a real difference to so many families.

My minimum target is £3,100 but with your help, I am hoping to go way beyond that if we are to achieve our goal.

According to Cancer Research UK more than 1 in 3 people in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime and the number of people in Sussex, living with or beyond cancer is set to almost double by 2030. MacMillan estimate that there will be121,400 people directly affected by cancer IN SUSSEX ALONE. That's 12.5% of the projected population. So the new Sussex MacMillan Cancer Support Centre is for ALL of us.

The new centre ( which has been designed with the input of cancer patients) will provide specialist cancer information and advice, counselling and complimentary therapies, as well as practical help and support and benefits advice. It will link in with existing services to ensure that everyone in the county can find the support they need at a time they need it the most.

And finally…I'm also using this opportunity to say thank you to my husband Terry and to my children Alex and Josh, for your love and continued support and also to my family and friends for everything you have done so far in helping me through my cancer journey <3

And Thank you ALL very much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Every penny you donate will be most gratefully received.

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.