Hello, I’m Sarah. I'm 38 years old and I live in Surrey with my two children. I am Deputy Lead Health Play Specialist at The Royal Marsden Hospital and I work with children who are battling cancer. The patients I work with have inspired me to take on this challenge. Everyday I am privileged to spend time with incredibly brave children who have to endure invasive treatments and their resilient families who have to stand by and watch their loved ones suffer so that they can get better. The families I work with are inspirational and I will forever draw strength from the memories I make during my time with each and every one of them 💜 

Most people’s lives have been touched in some way by this horrible disease. Like me, I’m sure each and every one of you will have a story to tell. My best friend lost her lovely mum to cancer In 2021. Around the same time we experienced the loss of a little girl at The Royal Marsden, I was lucky enough to get to know her through my role as a Play Specialist. At 10 years old she was bright, funny, talented and beautiful. She was in hospital with us for many months and, despite the brutal symptoms and side effects, she kept fighting right until the end. Her mum, who was by her side every step of the way kept her strong. It was heartbreaking to watch their story unfold and as a mother myself it made me want to do something more to stop this happening to other families.

With that in mind, I decided to take myself way out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to raise money for the new ‘Oak Centre’ at The Royal Marsden, Sutton. The centre will help to speed up diagnosis and find better treatments in the UK. Over 12 months I will endeavour to find sponsors, organise a series of fundraising events whilst also training to improve my fitness levels. At the end of this time, in September 2022, I will fly to Peru to trek the Ancascocha trail. This is a 10 day trip, the longest time I will have ever have been away from my own children. It’s a tough trek with fluctuating temperatures and high altitude is likely to make it more difficult. I will be camping with a group of strangers that I have never met who are also passionate about trying to make a difference. I have dedicated each day of my trek to one of the incredibly brave children that I have got to know at The Royal Marsden but have sadly passed away over the last 12 months 💔 Please help me to raise as much money as possible for them and for this worthy cause. 

You can follow my fundraising progress, find out about my fundraising events and eventually get live updates from Peru by following @SarahsCharityChallenge on Instagram.