My Nan, Esther Lynagh, was without a doubt the toughest person I ever have and probably will ever meet. So I'm going to be facing one of my biggest fears by climbing Mount Snowdon in Wales this April, despite being incredibly unfit and having intense vertigo. It should be fun.... hopefully. You'll understand why I'm doing this in support of The Royal Marsden if you fancy reading on. 

Nan passed away on 13th September 2014 and my family's whole life changed. We saw my Nan every day - she was always more than a Grandmother in the traditional sense. She was our second Mum, our best friend and our strength through everything. 

Nan was diagnosed with colon cancer when I was nine - almost fourteen years ago. She fought incredibly hard and even through the toughest times refused to give in. She made the hardest things fun - we had picnics at chemotherapy sessions and many "cancer bants". Even during her last few weeks of life, we were by her side every day and managed to fit in a lot of laughter. There was never a question of "Why me?" from Nan - her answer was why not. Cancer can happen to anyone, at any point. It's never fair and it's never enough time. 

We had eighteen months longer than any doctor expected with my Nan, and I think a lot of that was her sheer determination to live (she always was incredibly stubborn and wouldn't do anything until she was ready - when picking her up we'd call before we'd left the house to tell her we were outside - she always took another ten minutes). Unfortunately, as many of you know, determination isn't enough to keep  someone going forever, no matter how much they want to.

So that brings me to why I'm doing this for The Royal Marsden. Without the support and work that the Marsden do, I doubt that we would have been able to get as much extra time with Nan. The staff at the Marsden were unfailingly kind and supportive (when Nan was told there was nothing more that they could do for her, she was the only person not to come out of the room in tears. She actually ended up comforting the very sweet nurse she had come to know over the past few years of being a patient there - that's just the kind of badass woman she was); I imagine because Nan was their ideal patient. She tried experimental surgeries and drugs to see if it could buy her, and those who would come after her, a bit more time, and maybe eventually a cure.  The treatment was groundbreaking and they let her make decisions even when to many people it would seem like there weren't many left to make.

My Nan was desperate to keep living, and we were desperate for her to keep living too. You can't always get what you want in life, and this is just one of those things - but the more money we can give to centers and hospitals like The Royal Marsden, the more likely we are to start by buying someone extra time. Your donations (prompted by laughing at updates from me as I climb Snowdon, probably bleeding, sweating and crying, using the thought of "Nan went through far worse than this, you giant baby" to get me up a glorified hill) will go towards caring for the patients who are currently in The Marsden. They will go towards new trials, new treatments, new technologies; there's endless possibilities as to what your money can do. But the simplest thing that it really will do is buy someone a little more time. 

Whether it's an extra hour, day, month, or year, when the time comes for it to be someone you love, you'll treasure it. I know I did, and I'd like to do this to thank The Royal Marsden for giving our family a little bit longer with the most incredible woman I've ever met.