This September I'm off on a challenging 5-day trek across the Great Wall of China, in a bid to raise funds towards CoppaFeel's life-saving mission to stamp out the late diagnosis of breast cancer by making sure that young people are regularly checking their boobs, pecs and chests and getting to know their bodies in order to have the confidence to see their GP if something just doesn't feel normal.

This is a cause very close to my heart, after being diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in June 2024, the week of my birthday, no less. The 15 months that followed were bananas, 6 months of IV chemo and immunotherapy, then surgery, radiotherapy, and then back on the chemo tablets and more immunotherapy. Mad but ultimately life-saving (so far!) I finished my treatment in September 2025.

A year ago I basically couldn't walk because the chemo I had caused something gorgeous called "hand-foot syndrome" so my feet were covered in blisters and I could barely walk 100m, it was flipping agony. Then after I finished treatment, it all had me so weak that I was breathless and needing little stops doing a little 1 km walk to the park, so getting a place to take on the Great Wall of China (altitude, extreme heat, up and down thousands of steps for 50km) will be an incredible achievement.

Life carries on now, hurray, but I am in close surveillance for years, as TNBC has a higher risk of recurrence than other breast cancers. Until I hear otherwise though I shall be LIVING, and in this case trekking =)

Two things are for sure. 1. My incredible family, friends, chosen-family and the communities I am part of got me through the last two years and 2. If I didn't see Coppafeel on the Lorraine show many years ago, I might not have checked myself regularly, and my outcomes would for sure have been scarily worse.

Thanks so much for reading (if you're still here, the code word is melons) and your donation - of any size - & support if you're able, is so so so so so appreciated x 100.

To find out more about CoppaFeel! head to www.coppafeel.org.

Big hugs, thanks and please remember to #checkyourtits every month!

CP xx