Charlotte Emily Watson is my niece and I love her with all my heart. She is 4 years old and in June 2014 she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue – in Charlotte’s case, just above her right eye. The blow devastated her family and turned what had been a fantastic year into a nightmare. Charlotte responded well to Chemotherapy and the tumour reduced in size, however it did not reduce enough and she required Radiotherapy. This again was a massive blow to us as the long term side effects of radiotherapy can be very detrimental to children who are still growing, it can cause disfigurement as the treated area doesn’t grow in the same way as that what isn’t treated. Dr Hale of The RVI Hospital in Newcastle put forward a case for funding for Charlotte and her parents to be flown to the USA for nine weeks to receive Proton Beam Therapy, a cutting edge treatment that can treat cancers in delicate areas with pinpoint precision, reducing the likelihood of severe side effects. With this treatment and her own strength Charlotte has a great prognosis for the future. Charlotte has been an absolute inspiration to everyone who knows her, throughout her treatment she has been so brave. She always just bounces back no matter what she endures.

The worst thing as a parent or a close family member in this situation is how afraid and utterly helpless we feel, there is quite literally NOTHING we can do to help her, we just need to trust in the doctors and staff to fix her while we try to keep life as normal as we can. We can’t fix her on our own and we can’t cure cancer, so we’re going to do what we can. Charlotte's Dad, Grandad and I have decided to take up a challenge of our own, to raise at least £10,000 to help the Clic Sargent, a children’s cancer charity which supports families and children affected by childhood cancers.

Charlotte's Challenge is a 5 day walk along the 130 mile C2C cycle route from Whitehaven to Sunderland – to complete the challenge in this time walkers must complete the equivalent of a full Marathon every day, while carrying tents, food sleeping bags, etc. The walk is to be completed unassisted, no luggage vehicles, no comfy hotels. Just a long hard slog – like Charlotte has!!

Anyone is welcome to participate in the walk or even just a part of it – just raise as much as you can!!

Donations can be made via our Facebook page “Charlottes Challenge” or our just giving page!

THANK YOU!    Malcolm (Dad), Jonny (Uncle) and Alan (Grandad)