I’ll be wearing a pink pig onesie every day for a week to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. Here’s why… This time last year, I discovered a lump. It was breast cancer.  I hardly told a soul - I had surgery in December and got through Xmas events with tinsel hiding the stitches. Then my chemo and radiotherapy coincided with lockdown, so even now very few people know. 

The charity - which funds research and supports sufferers - has been a godsend to me.  Now, in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’ve decided to ‘go public’ to ask you to help me support them.  I’d be hugely grateful for any donations, however small, towards my fundraising target.

This year’s been a strange time for everyone, but a doubly strange and scary time to be having cancer treatment, which has wrecked my immune system in the midst of the pandemic. 

Breast Cancer Now offers you support every step of the way - and it’s all free.  When you’re reeling from your diagnosis, its booklets and website explain what it all means, your treatment and side-effects, what exercises to do after surgery, what to eat, practical advice about finances, relationships or work, and finally how to spot the dreaded signs which might mean a recurrence.

You can call the charity’s helpline nurses for advice, or chat in its forum to other sufferers. I joined a phone-buddy service which matched me with a lovely lady who’d already been through it all. And I’ve just finished the Moving Forward online course, designed for when your hospital treatments finish and suddenly you’re on your own and worrying about the future.

The charity’s fundraising has been devastated by Covid. It has lost around £16million and had to make 45 staff redundant. At the same time, it estimates that a backlog has built up of nearly a million UK women whose NHS breast screening is overdue - making its services and support even more vital.

I’ve bought the onesie to coincide with Breast Cancer Now’s ‘Wear It Pink’ fundraising day on Friday October 23rd. I’ll be wearing it for the whole week in the hope of raising as much money as possible.

So I’ll be in a pig suit every waking hour - at home, on all outings, at my dog training class and on dog walks, in Zoom calls etc and will post photos on Facebook. When it’s in the wash, I’ll wear a monkey onesie I’ve borrowed.

I know times are tough for many people and I quite understand if you can’t donate. But if you can support me, please do and help this brilliant charity.  Sending huge thanks and socially-distanced piggy hugs xx

* Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.