Suzanne cycles 54 miles after major surgery in memory of her mother

Suzanne Roe from Coleshill, is cycling 54 miles in the London to Brighton Cycle Ride on Sunday 11th September to raise funds and awareness for the UKs fifth biggest cancer killer, pancreatic cancer.

Suzanne is determined to raise funds for small charity Pancreatic Cancer Action in memory of her mother, Joanna Roe, who passed away from the disease in 2009 aged 72. Suzanne also feared she too had pancreatic cancer after being diagnosed with a rare pancreatic tumour (IPMN) in January 2015.

Thankfully due to surgery at the specialist HPB unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, the tumour was successfully removed, and found to be non-malignant. However, the surgery has had a huge impact upon Suzanne’s day-to-day life as removing half her pancreas and her spleen has meant daily medication to help her body cope with infection.

Suzanne says: “Until May this year I hadn’t even been on a road bike but after borrowing my husband’s bike I was hooked.

“Residual pain from scar tissue means this will be an even tougher challenge for me but it is great to know that I will be raising funds to improve early diagnosis into pancreatic cancer and make people aware of this disease that is extremely underfunded in terms of research”

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of all common cancers- it has stayed at just 4% for almost 50 years and 26 people die a day from the disease. 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. Ultimately this will lead to improving survival rates.

Ali Stunt, Founder of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: “We are delighted that Suzanne is giving her time to support Pancreatic Cancer Action.

”As a charity, we rely on the generosity of individuals like this to help us continue our vital work. Please back Suzanne in her fundraising efforts so that we can continue research into early diagnosis and raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.”

To help Suzanne reach her £1,000 you can sponsor her here: http://www.doitforcharity.com/lovingmypancreas

For more information about pancreatic cancer please visit pancreatic cancer action at https://pancreaticcanceraction.org

And to contact Suzanne directly please visit www.lovingmypancreas.com