This June, I’m setting off on a 5 day trek in the Isle of Skye to raise money and awareness for the breast cancer charity CoppaFeel!

To be honest, I applied to this trek on a complete whim. My Instagram algorithm has been feeding me videos of Skye and I’ve just been obsessed with the landscape for years now. When I saw on CoppaFeel!’s website that their upcoming trek was there, I had a gut feeling that it felt a bit meant to be, and I applied. I’m still absolutely shocked that I was given a place, but I’m so excited for this journey. I’m definitely the perfect mixture of excited and absolutely terrified!

My why:

Breast cancer unfortunately runs in my mom’s side of the family. The cover photo of this page is of me, my grandma, and great-grandma, both of whom had breast cancer. My great grandma survived, and lived to be 103! My great-aunt Susan (unpictured) also survived breast cancer. Their daughter and sister, my grandma Carole, unfortunately passed away almost three years ago at the age of 72, after her breast cancer spread significantly. Grandma was unfortunately also very mentally unwell, and she refused medical support for over a year, so the cancer spread. She only received an official diagnosis a couple of months before she died, and by that point, it was too late to save her life. Earlier intervention could have saved her life. This grief is complex, but her life and death have taught me so much, and it has been my why for so many things I have done in my life over the last three years. Although breast cancer was not the sole reason she died, and it was combined with her lifelong struggles with her mental health, I’m so proud to be doing this trek in her memory. I never want anyone to suffer in the way that she did.

My mom, my sisters, and myself could also very likely be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in our lives. As scary as this is, it is charities like CoppaFeel! who raise awareness, promote regular chest-checking, and strive for early prevention and intervention that gives me hope for my family's future.

Even the cost of a coffee would mean the absolute world to me on this journey, and I’m truly grateful for anything you can give. This experience has already been life-changing, and it’s only just begun! You can follow my journey on Instagram and TikTok @hangoeseveryhere :)

Also…check your chest…literally right now. It might just save your life! <3