In October 2020, my mum, Tracy Spargo was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, and so began the most difficult year of her life. On 30 December 2020, she had a mastectomy and started her treatment, having to go into hospital entirely on her own due to COVID-19, and had to recover from her operation with support from a distance from all of her family and friends. After this, my mum had to go through 18 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by a week of radiotherapy. Throughout all of this, she showed an immense amount of courage, strength and dignity, telling everyone, “Well what other choice, do I have? I will never give into this.”

My mum’s strength and bravery over the last year resulted in relief at the end of 2021, where her scans showed to have gotten rid of all of the cancer cells in her body. She will still need to take tablets and receive annual check ups for the rest of her life to make the chances of the cancer returning as slim as possible, whilst also suffering from multiple side effects. I have been so impressed by the strength my mum has shown during this time and want to try and show how much I admire her by completing a challenge of my own, even if it will never compare to the challenges she has gone through. I am hoping that by completing this marathon, she will be shown once again just how much support she has and how much she is loved by all of those around her. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to raise funds in support of such an amazing person and charity that helps so many people.

I will be posting updates of my training on social media, spreading the awareness of my mum’s journey. Feel free to take a look at my Instagram page: jakespargo96