Due to an unfortunate turn of events, I was unable to complete the 2014 London Marathon, but fear not…my place is firmly secured for 2015 and my training is underway. For those of you who have already donated, thank you, funds raised have been received by WCRF UK. For those of you who don't know my story, read on…

I dream of a world without cancer – a dream the World Cancer Research Fund works tirelessly to make a reality.

In February, 2006, my life changed. I was told I had cervical cancer and would probably be dead within eighteen months. Several years of treatment, lifestyle changes and hard work later, I am cancer free. The last eight years have not been easy, in fact far from it. I have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions as I watched friends I met during treatment lose their fight; I felt my body lose it’s strength and youth and was soon dragging myself out of bed every morning to face each day.

As a big believer in the power of education, I set out to learn as much as possible about the enemy I was fighting. In my world, knowledge is power and I wanted to make myself as powerful as possible to tackle the journey that lay ahead of me. I learned so much about cervical cancer, and cancer in general. I learned how my diet affects my health (and I don’t just mean the calories), I learned how simple changes lead to great benefits and I learned that, as with so many diseases, prevention is possible. I armed myself with the facts and geared up for the hardest journey I would ever travel.

I fought for my life and won! Whilst it’s something I’m proud of, it also serves as a daily reminder of the control I have over my health.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK) helps people to make choices that reduce their chances of developing cancer. As the first cancer charity to create awareness of the relationship between diet and cancer risk; to focus funding on research into diet and cancer prevention and to gather and interpret global research to create a practical message on cancer prevention, WCRF work with other global charities to share information and research to reach people all over the world. To date they have invested millions of pounds into funding research grants to understand how cancer can be prevented through diet, physical activity and weight management. Their research is being used by institutions like the World Health Organization as evidence as they develop global health policy, and this year alone, WCRF UK reached over 900,000 people with health information.

WCRF UK believe that together we can prevent cancer. I wholeheartedly agree and ask you to join me in raising as much money as possible to help WCRF continue their amazing work. 

Running the London marathon has been on my ‘bucket list’ for some time, and for many of the last seven years, it has been little more than a pipe dream. Now it is a reality. On Sunday, 26th April, 2015, I’ll take my place alongside thousands of other runners and run 26.2 miles (42.19km) in the 35th annual London marathon. Please support me (and WCRF UK) by giving anything you can (every little helps). Please circulate my page amongst family members, friends and colleagues. Join me, and WCRF UK, as we work towards “Stopping cancer before it starts”. Cancer is a disease that currently affects one in three people during their lifetime, let’s change that.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.