Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In July 2020, I was diagnosed with hormone receptive breast cancer. This was a frightening discovery and amid the  Covid-19 pandemic so I was alone receiving this news.  I was in surgery within three weeks.  and it was a success so luckily I did not require chemotherapy.  I had a week of daily radiotherapy in September 2020.

I have recovered physically very well; however, the psychological impact is long lasting.  I have not discussed my condition with many people as I have been protecting my grandchildren from the worries of their Gran having had cancer.  It has been quite a lonely journey with fatigue, anxiety and depression along with a sense of isolation during the pandemic.

I realised I needed to get out more so I started walking long distances daily, meeting new people and making friends.  I realised this was helping my recovery.  On one of these walks I was introduced to a new face, a nurse at the hospital where I work who had had breast cancer diagnosed a few months before me.  We became friends and she told me about Team Phoenix, encouraging me to enter training for the September Triathlon.  At first I thought that starting such rigorous training at the age of 65 was mad but after encouragement from Jo I decided to give it a go.

Over the past few months there were times that some of us felt as though we would never get there.  I came off my bike and fractured my wrist in the third week of training.  I briefly considered packing it all in but that felt such a loss that I still went along to cheer on the team and took part as much as I could to continue to be involved  My wrist is now strong enough to get back on the bike and I completed a mock triathlon on Saturday 4 September which included a bike ride of about 9 miles.  My physical stamina and mood have improved markedly since I joined Team Phoenix.  I am so grateful to have been accepted by this special team.  We are are being trained by professionals paid for by Medway Triathlon and mentors who generously give their time for free.

"Team Phoenix is a breast cancer survivorship programme. We address mind, body, and soul through the sport of triathlon. Our women follow personalised 12-week training programmes with our coach, form friendships through social events and ultimately race together in a sprint distance triathlon."

We are swimming 400m in the lake at Hever Castle, then cycling 20km around the grounds (and up some big hills too) after which we will be running 4km.  It's all happening on 25th September.

It can cost over £1000 to provide the support, equipment and training for just one woman in this process. I would like to raise as much money as I possibly can to enable more women like me to find some positivity after a breast cancer diagnosis.  Any amount you can spare to help me reach this target would be greatly appreciated and please share this as widely as you feel able to.

Many thanks to all.

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