Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to visit our fundraising page. We can't thank you enough for your help to raise money for this amazing cause. At the end of last year, I asked my sister Natasha, and good friends, Lesley and Lorna, if they'd run the Edinburgh Marathon with me, on the 26th of May 2024, raising funds for Breast Cancer Now. I was over the moon that they said yes. This is Lorna’s first marathon and Lesley ran Edinburgh marathon 10 years ago. I know they’ll both smash it and I’m excited to complete this journey with them.

My mum, Sayyara, was diagnosed with breast cancer 8.5 years ago. After a year of treatment, mum was in remission and was given the all clear. The relief was indescribable. In October 2022, I ran the London Marathon, raising money for Breast Cancer Now. After the marathon, I said I would never run one again. I felt I had fallen out of love with running, which I didn't think was possible. I decided to take a good few months off and didn't run until 8 months later. At the end of 2022, mum started to develop a numb feeling in her shoulder and as time went by, she started to lose feeling and the use of her left arm and hand. After many tests, mum was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in November 2023. Some of the cancer cells from mum's previous operation back in 2015 escaped and the cancer migrated under mum's left collar bone.

The diagnosis for secondary breast cancer is it's incurable. As soon as you hear that, your heart stops and you cannot think of anything but the worst. However, we have heard and found many positive cases of people living their lives as normal managing this illness. With the medical skills and research that has continued and progressed through the years, because of charities like Breast Cancer Now, we now have access to life-saving medication, which we may not have had 10 years ago.

My sister, friends and I want to continue to raise money for this fantastic cause and help all those people who are or have been diagnosed with breast cancer and their family and friends affected by it. We sometimes forget about the people caring for those with an illness and how hard, upsetting and isolating it can be. Please help us raise money for this amazing charity and help echo hope and happiness back into people's lives.