Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Macmillan is hugely important to me and fundraising is hugely important to Macmillan. Without people doing events, running marathons, climbing mountains, and donating in all the other ways that you can, Macmillan wouldn’t exist.

Below is my story, if you've got time, please have a quick read. It explains why supporting Macmillan means such a lot to me...........

So I turned 50 this year and there’s been times in my life when I didn’t think I’d reach half a century!

One of those times was in 1995 when I was left absolutely distraught and devastated with grief at losing my beautiful 18 year old little sister Jeanette to an aggressive form of teenage bone cancer. 

Jinny died within a year of diagnosis and during that time, my family entered into a nightmare world of chemotherapy, hospitals, doctors, heartbreak and hell. Jinny’s battle with cancer was the most inspiring, courageous fight I have ever seen and will never ever forget. I miss her with all my heart every single day.

Another life challenging event was in 2003. At aged 36 I was an ordinary stay at home mam still grieving for my little sister, when by a cruel twist of fate I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just a month after losing my Dad to a massive heart attack. I was so scared especially for my two children, my husband Mick, my Mam and my siblings. The look of fear in their eyes made me so determined to fight it and to prove to the thousands of people who hear those dreaded words “I’m afraid you’ve got cancer”, that you can get better and it can change your life in such a positive way.

Since getting the all clear, I have pushed myself to the limit over the last 14 years taking on huge challenges to raise funds and awareness for Macmillan Cancer Support. I’ve climbed mountains in Peru, ran the Great North Run 9 times, ran the London Marathon, cycled 500 miles across the mountainous regions of North Vietnam, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and cycled 420 miles from Kenya to Tanzania. 

Each challenge was incredibly hard both physically and mentally especially without a thyroid, but the sense of achievement was fantastic. 

Not only a local volunteer challenger and fundraiser, I became a national ambassador for Macmillan Cancer Support. They had offered their help when I was ill, and now they were supporting me every step of the way as I used my voice and my story to raise awareness for them locally, regionally and nationally. 

Macmillan, along with my incredible family and friends have helped me achieve so much more than I could ever have imagined. I’ve managed to turn indescribable grief and fear into a positive life changing experience, teaching my kids that you can do anything if you really set your mind to it! One of my proudest moments was being awarded the British Empire Medal in 2013 after being nominated by my very dear friend Michelle who I met on my first challenge in Peru in 2004!  

Volunteer charity and community work helped build my confidence, skills and experience which led to me being offered paid positions within my local health and social care sector, so fitting in training and fundraising these last few years has been a bit more challenging. 

I still managed to fit in walking 135 miles from Sheffield to Gateshead in 2016 unsupported, with my daughter Emily, who's running the Great North Run for the first time this year for Macmillan! (Go Em!!!),  and in 2017 I cycled 140 miles from Aberdeen to Edinburgh with the Rotary Club of Darlington. Oh, I also did a freezing North Sea Boxing Day dip in a bikini! All extremely tough but great fun!

So, why Nepal in October? 

I’ve had a few health scares recently. Living with the effects of cancer treatment can sometimes catch up with you as well as now being a “woman of a certain age”! More importantly I've got very dear friends who are either living with cancer or living with the effects of cancer. I worry about them every day.  So, to keep me focused for my Nepalese challenge, I also signed up for the Hadrian's Way Cycle Route in June and the Darlington 10k in August for the Rotary Club of Darlington.   I've got a separate fundraising page for the Rotary challenges at: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichelleThompsonBEM

My challenges are always in memory of my beautiful, brave little sister and for those who are being diagnosed every single day. So it’s time to get super fit again, raise a lot of money for Macmillan to which I owe so much and take on those Himalayan Mountains for people living with and beyond cancer right now.

Cancer affects us all. We can all help, so can I ask you to help support me by sponsoring as much as you can to help me reach my target of £2300 which represents £100 for each year I have missed my little sister Jinny. 

Thank you so much x

In memory of Jinny, Dad, Aunty Dolly, Uncle Dave, Uncle Mike, Uncle Brendan and Grandma x x x x x x