Devoted family takes on Tough Mudder to tackle pancreatic cancer together
Rebecca Kemp, 26 from High Wycombe is taking part in the Tough Mudder Half London
event on the 6th May with 3 other family members to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer Action. The team are dedicated to raising awareness of the disease as Rebecca’s step dad, Nick, was diagnosed with it just after Christmas 2016.
Running with Rebecca and her brother Tony will be Joanne, Nick’s daughter, and her husband Ben.
Nick is currently undergoing chemotherapy but has been informed that sadly his cancer is terminal, however, this is not deterring the family from keeping positive and doing everything they can to support him.
Rebecca says “This year has been very tough on the family already. The news of Nick’s cancer shocked us to the
core and we all felt compelled to do something to help raise awareness and money for the charity.”
“Pancreatic cancer is a silent killer and the symptoms often don’t present themselves until the cancer is advanced. This makes diagnosis very tricky so finding more effective ways of screening patients is very important to success rates and prognosis.”
“Joanne, Becky and their families have supported Nick and Mum but this hasn’t been easy as they live in Devon. Nick has 3 beautiful grandchildren and they enjoy going camping together and spending as much time as possible together.”
“Mum and Nick were in the middle of major renovations on their house that they bought to retire in and Nick was doing a lot for the work himself. A group of builders offered to come in and get the work done in a matter of months so that Nick could see his home finished and safe. We are very grateful to the tradesmen who helped Nick and Mum get the work finished.”
Pancreatic cancer is the UK’s 5th biggest cancer killer. The survival rate is just 5% which is the lowest of any cancer.
Pancreatic Cancer Action is committed to working towards earlier diagnosis of the disease so that surgery, currently the only cure, is made available to the sufferer. The charity fund research into early diagnosis, provide medical education programmes, and launch awareness campaigns.
Ali Stunt, Founder of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: “We are delighted that Rebecca and her family are giving their time to support Pancreatic Cancer Action.”
”We rely solely on donations from the public and thanks to people like Rebecca and her family that we can continue our vital work. Please back them in their fundraising efforts so that we can continue research into early diagnosis and raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.”
To sponsor the team please visit their Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/little-mudders