This past year someone very close to me was diagnosed with stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer. Throughout her ongoing treatment I saw how strong, resilient and positive she remained in the face of such a tough and worrying time and despite many setbacks and low moments.

Not being able to take the cancer away myself, I decided to use her strength as motivation to take up a challenge with a view to raising money for a chairty of her choice. Cork ARC Cancer Support House provided her with incredible support and access to a varied range of therapies that helped her to cope with the cancer diagnosis and treatment. For that reason I will be raising money for the above charity by running the Cork City Half Marathon on the 3rd of June. I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination but have been training hard and hope to complete the run in and around 2 hours.

I'll refrain from quoting stats but it is a sad reality that many of us have encountered, or will have some experience of, cancer in our lives. If you can spare a couple of euro for this amazing charity I will be incredibly grateful for your support, as will Cork ARC Cancer Support House as they provide professional care to help people cope with the challenges that cancer can bring in their lives. Anyone that donates offline through my sponsorship cards will have their name credited here. Thank you!