I am Anna Swabey, 24 years old, and I have a terminal brain tumour, given on average three years to live. Since my diagnosis at the beginning of 2015, I have chosen to channel this negative into the biggest positive I could think of: I started blogging www.annaswabey.wordpress.com detailing my life living with a brain tumour, with the hope of spreading awareness and helping others. Most importantly, I began fundraising for Brain Tumour Research Campaign. This is my next big fundraising mission:

PARIS MARATHON 2016!!!!

Paris holds such a special place in my heart. I lived and worked there during my third year of my degree, thus this beautiful city holds so many cherished memories. I have never been a “runner” in my life! I was sporty at school, but when it came to athletics however, I could stretch to a half decent shot putt or discus throw; running? No thanks!

Needless to say, before my diagnosis, I would have laughed in the face of anyone who would suggest to me that running a marathon would be a good idea!!! But it is true, when you find yourself in a situation like I find myself in, your outlook does change: why on earth can I not run a marathon?! I see it as a way for me to improve my health and fitness, and that can only be a good thing in my on going battle against my tumour, right? I sought the opinions of my medical team and they too agreed, as long as I build up my training in a sensible way. So that was that, decision made!

I wanted this next fundraising mission, however, to be MUCH bigger than me, a cancer patient, running the Paris Marathon.

Thanks to the help and ideas of Andy Davis, we have decided we want this mission to be a TEAM EFFORT.  And this is where my incredible support network come in. Comprising of friends, adoptive families, and, incredibly, people I am yet to meet...

Anna's Paris Marathon Mission:

Anna Swabey

Andy Bell

Andy Davis

Bex Davis

Sam Davis

Carl Sneddon

Amy Bertram

Sarah Hargreaves

Chris Hargreaves

Tasnia Nizam

Lola Adeyemi

Tessa Pullen

Polly Row

Ellie Digby

Elizabeth Simmons

Holly Brown

Liz Brown

Kayleigh Vincent

Nick Turner

We want to make this weekend in April truly memorable for all, and obviously ensure that we raise the most amount of money possible for Brain Tumour Research Campaign. Words cannot express how much this charity means to me, and consequently, all of the team. The charity holds hope of discovery of life saving treatments; a cure! Perhaps it is too late for me, but please help us to help those who are yet to be diagnosed.

Any donation will be so gratefully received.

Thank you!