Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

10th January 2013 is a date engrained in my brain, the day I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer aged 32. I received the terrifying diagnosis with my husband and our son who was 7 months old at the time.

Soon after my diagnosis, I went through chemotherapy followed by a double mastectomy. I then started taking Tamoxifen and had one year on the wonder drug Herceptin. After this, I went through several years of reconstruction surgery. Initially, I was due to be on Tamoxifen for 5 years but my Oncologist shared details of medical studies showing people who stayed on it for 10 years reduced their risk of  Cancer returning by 25%. I decided to take those odds.  A decade on a drug which can have quite a few side effects felt like an insurmountable task. There have definitely been many times I didn't think I'd see this upcoming landmark in my life. Like I do in other aspects of life, I had to break that 10 years down to more manageable chunks. The first was to be alive to see my boy start school, big ✅ 🥰

At 32, my main dream was to grow our family. The Cancer I had loved hormones so getting pregnant again was very risky. Plus, i was told not to get pregnant whilst taking Tamoxifen given the risks it would pose to a baby.

We all have challenges in life. I'm not sure what has been harder for me... the fear of getting ill again if Cancer returns or, the sadness of not being able to have more children. This was especially hard in my 30s when my friends were having more babies. I swung between both spectrums and have really struggled with the choices I had to make. I landed on trying to minimise all chances of Cancer returning and staying healthy.  One Oncologist told me to stay fit and not get fat, clear advice I live by!

I could have come off the Tamoxifen drug after 5 years for a break and tried for more children. The fear of flooding my body with hormones was a risk that I was not mentally able or willing to take.

I am truly blessed with a wonderful husband, an extraordinary son, family, friends and work colleagues who are the absolute best. I want to maximise my chances of being around with these wonderful humans as long as I can.

At the end of 2022, my Cancer specialists confirmed that once I finish 10 years on Tamoxifen in June 2023, that is me done and dusted with Cancer medication (if i stay Cancer free of course). I still don't quite believe it.  I'm actually quite petrified of coming off Tamoxifen in case I get ill again but balance this fear knowing that staying on Tamoxifen longer than 10 years increases the risk of endometrial Cancer...no thanks!

I was at a work event in October 2022 and one of our leaders shared her traumatic loss of her beautiful baby boy to Cancer. The strength she shared talking about her boy and keeping his "memory alive for good" was overwhelming. Once I fought back the tears and reflected with my family on her story, we agreed that I needed something positive to focus on when coming off Tamoxifen rather than let fear win. Hence my fundraising plan to do a huge swim for the Olive Tree charity.

The Olive Tree charity is based by Crawley hospital. The special people and volunteers who work there were a huge part of keeping me sane during Cancer. They helped me with counselling plus various treatments to help me cope with the many side effects of Cancer treatment and surgery. Olive tree is a little haven of kindness and love. I really want to fundraise a pile of money for them to help others that are facing or will face Cancer in the future.

So, I'm going to train my butt off and work up to swim 10km in one day in June 2023. That is equivalent to 400 lengths of a 25 metre pool. June 2023 will be 10 years since my double mastectomy and when I stop taking Tamoxifen. 

Just like fighting Cancer, I can't do this alone. My marvellous boy Max, who is now ten years old, will do 50 lengths for me. A fab friend and swimming buddy of mine, VJ, will also do 50 lengths. That leaves me with 300 lengths of a 25m pool to train up to. The longest I've ever swam is 160 lengths so, I need to almost double that.  I may try and rope in another couple of people to help me or, just crack on and get it done! Let's see...

My husband isn't a big swimmer so will keep me motivated through training. I know he will be at my side cheering me on, like he always has been. Plus he has organised some swimming coaching for me to help me get fitter. My brilliant brothers who live in Scotland will be running and cycling to be with me in spirit for the challenge and to help raise as much as we can for this wonderful charity. If you want to do something too for Olive tree -maybe a walk, a run, a cake sale...anything... to help this fabulous charity then please do!

I'm really grateful to my local Nuffield gym who has agreed I can have a swim lane for a few hours to complete my fundraising challenge. 💚

Life is hard at the moment and the cost of living challenge is so hard. Every penny counts, any donation you can share would be HUGELY appreciated and go to help a truly wonderful charity.

Anything I raise personally will be match funded up to £5k by my wonderful employer, Legal & General ❤💚💙💛

Thanks for your support!

Claire, Joey and Max 

❤️💞💞💞💞❤️