I’ve decided to run the Sydney Marathon to raise money for my cousin Gemma who has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We grew up very closely with our cousins so naturally, this was devastating news for us all. Anyone who has met Gemma will know that she’s the BIGGEST personality you will ever meet and I can’t imagine not having her in our lives.

Gemma is a mother of three to Jack 20, Alfie 13 and her 3-year old baby girl born through IVF named Hope. After months of painful misdiagnosis from the NHS, she demanded a CT scan and they discovered a 9.5 cm tumour on her pancreas. She was told that the cancer was inoperable and had spread to her liver, only giving her a few months to live without chemo, or extended life expectancy of 9-12 if her body accepted the treatment.

Since then, she’s been doing an amazing job at raising awareness for misdiagnosis. She was recently contacted by a lady who's husband had been through a similar situation and undertook a new treatment in Istanbul which has seen incredible results for many suffering with cancer. The treatment costs £60k to complete over 5-6 months, which isn't cheap, so we are all trying to do as much as we can to raise the funds.

The idea of running a marathon feels like hell, but nothing compared to what my family are going through so I want to raise as much money as possibly can for the treatment! This will give Jack, Alfie and Hope more time to have with their Mum and there's no price you can put on that.

Any donation, be it $5 or $50 will really mean the world people! Thanks in advance for helping me support my amazing cousin

Sarah x

Please read her full story here: https://www.gofundme.com/hope-for-gemma

#HopeForGemma