I'm running 210km/130miles across Sri Lanka over six days and hoping to raise money for The Beacon Centre in Guildford. The nurses there helped care for my mum.

My mother (The Veedu) died last year. In the space of less than one year she was diagnosed with cancer, had chemo, major surgery, was told she was in remission, was told it had come back, and then died at home in April.

In that same year she saw my sister get married, had a brilliant last Christmas, laughed, listened to Elvis and country music, visited Rome, bought a new car and enjoyed time with her friends and family.

Cancer was a very small part of her life. There is so much more to think about and remember than that.

That said, her illness, at the end, meant we needed support at home. We were lucky to have a brilliant GP, a caring team of District Nurses and support from The Beacon Centre from an Occupational Therapist, Macmillan Nurse, Personal Care team, 24/7 support from its Community Nursing team and were offered help from the Marie Curie Nurses based there.

The centre, run by the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham, provides palliative and end of life care to people with a number of illnesses, including cancer, dementia, MND and more. In my job I get to see and hear from people whose loved ones die in pain and distress without any support. Often those bereaved families carry that trauma with them for years.

As I say, we were lucky. 

Please dig deep and throw some money my way. Until you need it, you can't imagine how important palliative care and support is. If you donate, your money will help people and families dealing with terminal illnesses care for their loved ones at home.

More on the race in Sri Lanka here - http://www.global-limits.com/the-wild-elephant-trail.html