Most people know that in March of this year my mum finally lost her battle with cancer. Having been diagnosed in May 2009 she went through a gruelling course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy; she rarely complained despite having to make a 2 hour round trip everyday to get her treatment. She eventually got the all clear and life as we knew it resumed, albeit briefly. We then discovered that the cancer had spread and mum needed more treatment. Again mum was strong and brave and we thought she had beaten it. Sadly this wasn't the case and on New Years day this year mum was taken into hospital, she had major surgery to remove a tumour that was pressing on her spine to relieve her smyptoms but they couldn't offer her any more treatment.

Mum was fortunate enough to get a bed at St Michaels hospice, which is where she spent her last weeks. For those of you that aren't Hereford based, St Michaels is an oasis of calm and tranquility where people who are nearing the end of their days can go and receive amazing care and support from staff and volunteers. Friends and family are also taken care of and my family and I will be forever grateful for how they looked after us all at this incredibly hard time.

Unbelivably St Michaels receives very little funding from the NHS and the majority of the £4,000,000 it needs this year alone to care for patients will be raised through fundraising, and that's where you come in. For the last 4 years St Michaels has organised a girls only midnight walk to raised valuable funds, this year the venus challenge turns 5 and they want it to be bigger and better than ever. Those who know me well will know that I love sleep and hate exercise so although a 10km walk might not seem like a big deal, it really is for me.

Please help me ensure that St Michaels is able to continue to care for patients and their families by donating via my just giving page.I realise I have written a lot so if you have made it this far, you can make it that little bit further to read about how just giving works.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.