For a number of years now my mother Anne has been surviving cancer. It started as Ovarian Cancer, a form which is particularly difficult to detect and treat, before it spread. Although progress has been made into diagnosis and treatment more than 10,000 women in the UK die each year as a result of gynaecological cancers. There's no national screening programme and the UK survival rate is unacceptably low at just 30%.

So this month I will be competing in the Berlin Marathon to help raise money for the charity who have been helping my mum and women like her with cancer.

GRACE are dedicated to helping women of all ages suffering from gynaecological cancers. They raise awareness and promote early diagnosis, raise standards of care, fund groundbreaking research and provide hospitals with vital equipment. They are a tiny charity with small overheads so any donations will go directly to funding their essential work. Please check out www.grace-charity.org.uk

Any donation would be hugely appreciated, whatever the size.

Thank you! x

P.S - My employer will kindly match a large amount of whatever we raise. None of the money will be used to fund the trip itself and there is no specific target to take part in the race. 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.