Jen is one of the most compassionate, caring and positive
people that I have ever met.  If there is such a thing as being 'cancer
fit' then that's Jen, but there are some things that you just can't
prepare for.  Thank you for sharing your story Jen and for your
inspiration!  Let's dig deep!

"Hi, it’s Jen here and Kate is showing what an amazing soul she is by raising money and awareness for two charities that are really close to my heart.

For those of you that don’t know me, I grew up in Chailey just around the corner from Kate, and operate my Personal Training business there, RRPT. Always loving sport and exercise from an early age, I’ve helped hundreds of clients over the last 10 years to get fit for and overcome a vast range of physical and psychological challenges.

Now, I face my own.

Last September, aged 35, I was diagnosed with Stage IV ALK Positive Lung Cancer, with additional tumours in my brain, pelvis and lymph nodes in my neck. It’s a rare type of lung cancer with a genetic mutation that particularly hits young, otherwise fit and healthy individuals. My journey so far has included brain surgery, radiotherapy and a new form of drug treatment called Targeted Therapy – a bit like chemo but a lot kinder – but I have to take it every day. The last 7 months have been a rollercoaster!

My previously good, underappreciated fitness levels are gone, but now I can enjoy watching friends, family and clients continue to pursue their own fitness dreams, and Kate is doing just that! The Mid Sussex Triathlon will involve a 400m swim, 25km road cycle and a 5km run, and Kate is taking all of this on to raise awareness and funds for ALK Positive UK and Brain Tumour Research – both charities which are investing heavily in new treatments that will hopefully prolong my life, and the 2000 others in the UK facing the same diagnosis.

I cannot wait to support Kate on the day of the Triathlon, and I know she and I would be so grateful of any support you can offer. She is training hard, staying motivated through lockdown and taking on this challenge for me. Money raised by these charities goes specifically to funding new clinical trials and testing new treatments. Raising awareness of lung cancer for non-smokers will improve the speed of diagnosis, because stubborn, otherwise healthy people like me will
be more aware that the lingering cough could be a sign of cancer and will actually present to their GP in time for treatment to be a cure!  Please share Kate’s fundraising efforts far and wide, let’s get people talking about cancer."

www.alkpositive.org.uk

www.braintumourresearch.org

www.rrpt.me

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