Hello everyone

I want to take this time to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy New Year - I wish for you the very best of Health, Wealth and Happiness in 2013.

Thank you everyone who takes time to read the blog, to tell your friends and family about it and especially to everyone who has supported War on Cancer in anyway they could. From all the generous donations of prizes for the tombola, to helping out at the random car washes we've held. To Mike the landlord of The Sun Inn at Cottingley who donates his car park and water to us for the car washes.

Thank you to all my die hard supporters who agree to do any crazy idea I come up with! and of course to all of you who sponsor and buy at the events. Without you all, this blog and fund-raising wouldn't be half as much fun! I look forward to seeing you at the 2013 events and hope we have as much fun as in 2012!

As you know, the 2013 sponsored endurance event has been announced - climbing Ben Nevis....I'm ecstatic  to say we are already into double figures with people signing up for it.....I can say if it goes like this years on the 2013 challenge will be a massive success. I hope to see not only this years entrants, but lots of new ones too....if there are new faces, it means War on Cancer is going the right way!

I am looking into a charity Zumba event....will let you know as soon as, time and venue to follow if I can get one sorted. Also for next winter - I will try again to cajole you into an indoor wall climbing adventure -- to be part of a team who climb the equivalent height of a chosen mountain, now that's something different!

I said I would look into a fun weekend for WoC's avid supporters...a weekend of white water rafting and maybe a mini highland games thrown in to boot! This will not be a fund-raiser, just like minded people getting together to chill, catch up and let their hair down. I will let you know when I've costed the weekend out.

Well that's it from War on Cancer and myself for 2012....I hope you've enjoyed your time here with me and I look forward to moving through 2013 with you. I hope you've all managed to get something positive from the blog, I write it with great openness and honesty and hope I show that no matter what we go through as individuals, we can always strive to better ourselves and always help others.

I want to say a big well done to all those who have gone through treatments this year, major congratulations to those who have been given the all clear, keep going to those who are still having treatments and you can do it to those about to start. And always in our memories and heart the brave ones who fought to the end but didn't make it....each and everyone of you are hero's for fighting the fight, well you are to me and will always be.

Keep helping yourselves everyone, get out exercising and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables....we know how much I go on...but seriously we only get one body, help it to fight off illnesses and medical conditions wherever you can, it's been proven to help.

I hope you can find the time to share the blog with your friends and family, to help me raise awareness about cancer and hopefully help break down this still very taboo subject for those who are struggling with it.

Thank you for sharing some of your time with me in 2012 and I hope to see you around in 2013.

Until next time
Tracy

Follow War on Cancer on Bloglovin!

Hello everyone

You can now follow War on Cancer on Bloglovin!...go to www.bloglovin.com and search War on Cancer and hit the follow button or hit the follow button on the left hand side of the home page....this way you get notified of any updates. I hope you decide to come join me and recommend the blog to your friends over on this fantastic blog site!

Until Next time
Tracy

Ben Nevis snippets

You can now follow the blog on Bloglovin.....there is a link on the left hand side of the home page!

Here's a little more information about Ben Nevis for you....I will keep adding snippets for you. If you want to come join and do the 2013 sponsored challenge add your name to the comments on the 2013 challenge tab or contact me.....there are plenty of places to stay in and around Fort William while climbing Ben Nevis to cater to all tastes.

Ben Nevis, or 'The Ben' as it is fondly known, sits majestically at the head of Loch Linnhe, its presence dominating the landscape from all corners of Fort William and some parts of Lochaber. The dramatic effect of Ben Nevis is emphasised by the fact that it begins its rise from sea-level. From the coast, it rises like a huge whale-back shape. This ends abruptly in 2000 ft cliffs to its north-east. This two-faced form of the Ben is what makes it so popular, providing steep but straightforward walking on paths on one side and challenging climbing on the other.

So until next time

Tracy

Ben Nevis - 2013 Endurance Sponsored Challenge

Ben Nevis translated from Gaelic means " Mountain of Heaven" it stands at 4408ft. Ben Nevis or "The Ben" as it is more commonly known is in actual fact an ancient huge volcano that would have been comparative to  the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883.

The first recorded ascent was in 1771 and in 1883 a footpath and observatory were built all thanks to Clement Linley Wragge. According to the records from the observatory between 1883 - 1904, fog was present almost 80% of the time at the summit between Nov & Jan, 55% of the time between May & June. The ave winter temp was -5c and the mean monthly temp for the year was -0.5c. In an ave year it the summit sees 261 gales and receives 4,350mm's of rain ( 171 in ) - the rainfall in winter is almost twice as high than that of spring and summer.

Clement Linley Wragge climbed The Ben daily to make observations leading to the opening of the observatory in 1883, this remained manned until it's closer in 1904.It is still the most comprehensive set of data on mountain weather in Britain.

So the weather will probably not be perfect on our ascent to the summit, but I know we will take out climb in great humour and with solid determination to reach the summit no matter what. I will post more facts and information regarding "The Ben" and War on Cancer's sponsored challenge 2013 over the coming months.

I hope to see many of you coming along to take up the challenge in War on Cancer's name, and getting yourselves the superb satisfaction of knowing you've conquered Britian's highest mountain along the way.

Based on the first annual challenge that was undertaken this year, a superb weekend it will be!

Until next time
Tracy

2013 Sponsored Endurance Challenge Announcement

Hello Everyone

So War on Cancer's sponsored endurance challenge of 2013 is -- climbing Ben Nevis! This challenge will take place on Saturday June 8th 2013. More details to follow.

 Anyone wanting to take up the challenge will have to pledge to a minimum amount of sponsorship raised. I of course hope that it will be greater than the minimum, but feel it is important to show a commitment to War on Cancer and the cancer charities it supports. War on Cancer will continue to support it's current chosen charities until after my Mount Kilimanjaro climb which unfortunately had to be delayed from 2012 to 2013  due to ongoing health issues.

I hope to see the regular supporters taking up this event, and hope that from your enthusiastic recounting of this years Yorkshire 3 Peak challenge that you have in inspired your friends and colleagues to think about taking up our new challenge. The  Yorkshire 3 Peak challenge was such a huge success, not only from the money raised, but the raised awareness of War on Cancer and cancer in general got a great boost from our first annual endurance event! I cannot thank enough the wonderful people who took part and made it such a memorable day.

I hope this new challenge is taken up by even more people, who doesn't want to say they've stood at the summit of Ben Nevis and the highest point of Great Britain?!!! Again this is a great way to motivate yourselves into getting some training in, I always hark on about the fact exercise is great for you and your body, it really is proven to help prevent certain types of cancer. So even if this new challenge isn't for you -- get out and exercise your one and only body!!

After another disappointing year on the health front for myself this year, and the disappointment of having to delay Mt.Kilimanjaro - one of the first challenges I set myself while still having my invasive treatments, I have re-set my challenges for 2013 and will try drive myself to achieve them as always ( it's never my lack of motivation and determination that stops me from successfully completing any challenges, that's for sure!! )

So my personal year of challenges will start with the Ben Nevis climb challenge on Saturday June 8th, this will be a great practice for Mt. Kilimanjaro in the Sept/Oct ( dates to be confirmed )which I can happily say my big brother is coming to do with me! And then finally in Nov myself and a few great friends and a couple of family members are going if we can get places power walk the New York marathon! - this will be for Walk the Walk uniting against breat cancer again. I already have a theme planned, and will tell you all about it once our places are confirmed!

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who has supported War on Cancer this year - thank you to all of you who have donated gifts for the tombola's, who have sponsored someone in the events have helped WoC raise awareness which is has important has raising money, helped encourage people to get out exercising and especially those of you who couldn't make the cocktail events which meant I HAD  to drink one or three for you all!!

I want to thank each and everyone of you for your unwaivering support of me and of course this blog WoC - without all of you none of this would be possible and I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you enable me to make my dreams of raising money and awareness a reality. Your support allows me to think of things we can all do together, to keep fund-raising fun for all of us.

A big thank you goes to our new friends Lost Earth Adventures and the owners Richard and Sarah, you helped make the 3 Peak adventure fun while being safe. I very much look forward to our future collaborations!

Please share the blog with , friends, family and work colleagues - help me get more supporters in 2013 who will happily spread the word. I will do a complete update of the blog over the holiday period.

Anyone know of someone/ a business who'd like to sponsor or adopt WoC for a year, please get in contact...hell if they don't want to sponsor WoC - I'm available ;)

Until next time
Tracy

As we near the end of 2012

With the end of 2012 coming, I want to re-cap the year, the up, the down's, the successes, the failures, the plans in the pipeline and what achievements I hope will happen in 2013...for War on Cancer as well as myself personally.

Before that, here's a photo of Autumn - one of my favourite seasons, you cannot beat the autumnal colours of the leaves. Those days where there's a chill in the air, but it's still good enough to get out and wander.

Healthwise 2012 has been a mixed bag for me again. I started the year still taking my cancer prevention drug Letrozole. The problems that I had at the end of 2012 carried over into the New Year, as the first quarter of the year got under way, my health and mobility deteriorated. I was at this point ( as a lot of you are aware ) struggling to get out of bed unaided, struggling to dress myself even while sitting down. The joint stiffness and swelling were very hard to bare, added to the bone and muscle pain, this made life very difficult.These issues were on top of all the other side effects I was struggling with. I was so very frustrated, unable to get to the gym, unable to move myself forward, in fact I was sliding ever further backwards.

 I finally had a consult with the Rheumatologist the back end of March where she confirmed that a lot of the problems were indeed being caused by the Letrozole ( the breast clinic doctors had said it wouldn't be the drug causing my bone, joint and muscle problems ). So this was the final piece of information I had been waiting for, I had been thinking long and hard about stopping the cancer prevention drug for up to 12 months. This consult made up my mind. I could in no way carry on like that for a further 3 years which is how long I still had to go with the Letrozole.

Now I had made my final decision I felt a weight come off my shoulders, it had been a very difficult decision to make, no doubt the right one for me, I couldn't have lived like that, I always said it's all about the quality of life, not the quantity. The conversations I had with the medical profession were lively shall I say at times. It is a massive risk I've taken, but if my life is only to be extended by 5 years for example through the drugs.....well it was 5 wasted years.....what is the point of extending your life by 5 years if you cannot do anything and are poorly for the whole of it.

 I know and understand the risks to myself from my decision - but everyday I get better, everyday I do something creative, fulfilling validates my decision. I am a million miles from where I want to be....but that is much closer than it was this March. Many issues I was having have been settling down over the months, the joint stiffness and pain is now manageable with painkillers, a vast improvement from before. My mobility is much better and I have been back in the gym on and off this year. The biggest issue I have is the ongoing problem with my lower pelvic area. I carried into this year these problems and will exit the year with them too. I have been seeing my consultant a lot this year. My issues are with UTI's, kidneys infections, lower back pain etc. I've had a couple of procedures done in July this year, which didn't solve my problems. I will be having another day surgery in Jan 2013...fingers crossed this solves it once and for all. I will have been on antibiotics for approx 11 months solid and my biggest worry is more for the long term....I, as many know pick up almost everything that's going around ( my immune system never really recovered from the chemo etc ) and after long use of the antibiotics, it may reduce the choices available to infections in the future. My body is already finding that some antibiotics are ineffectual. So lets hope I don't need to have any more doses for a very long time.

So War on Cancer has had a good year, the first annual endurance sponsored challenge was a huge success - thank you to everyone who took part!....I look forward to seeing you on the 2013 sponsored challenge, and hope we make some new friends who get has passionate about it as we all are!

I unfortunately didn't and couldn't complete the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, I was very unwell coming down from the summit of Whernside and was in no fit state to carry on. I actually didn't stop vomiting until 4 pm that day....my big brother Graham reckoned I'd single handedly irrigated the Yorkshire Dales that day. It was a wonderful day made even better by the fantastic family & friends who took on this really tough challenge. I was totally overwhelmed by you all, and thank you for doing it, whether to challenge yourselves or as in most cases a mixture of that and supporting my cause.

Based on what happened at the 3 Peak challenge it was with a heavy heart I had to admit to myself I was in no way going to be able to do Mt. Kilimanjaro this year. I took that pretty bad at the time, and it's only with reflection I can accept it was a really big ask of myself to be ready to climb the world's tallest free standing mountain months after hardly being able to dress myself. Even my motivation and determination weren't going to get me to the "Roof of Africa" in 2012.

This year has seen family and friends fighting the fight against cancer....for those who finished their invasive treatments and those who are still having them - I want to say how truly wonderful you all are....I say to anyone who asks me....the cancer family is one no-one wants to belong to....but if you become part of it, there will never be anywhere that supports and understands you more. Keep fighting - it's what we all do best. For friends who fought courageously to the end but didn't make it, I say you never gave up and that's what's important. You are and will be sadly missed...but will never be forgotten. Always in our hearts.

I caught up with friends I had not seen in a long time - I loved my mad crazy week with Merryn, showing her around the North of England....letting her get a taste of Yorkshire and some surrounding counties as we did a whirlwind tour of everything Mr Darcy! - I think she'll be back to visit in the future.

The joys of Facebook saw me catch up with some old school chums who I hadn't seen or heard of in 30 years!....this is social media at it's most positive best! Some of my old school pals I had gone to school with at 4 years old and other at 9.....it has being the best time, catching up on each others lives. I cannot describe what fun I've had with all this!....it's so nice when social media is used for the good and not some poor  excuse at flirting and cheating on supposed loved ones. It is a very sad fact of life that individuals think that kind of poor behaviour is acceptable and that it's not really cheating....because you don't actually meet up with them....erm yes it is cheating in the fullest...it's only because geographically it may be impossible to meet up - the intent is still there.

I entered a new chapter of my life earlier this year, I started 2 part-time college courses ( both going really well )...I've been doing a work placement at the Bradford Bulls which is great fun. This after the end of my 14 year relationship.....it's all change about. A new me and a new future - onwards and upwards.

As always the year end lets many of us reflect over the previous year, many of us look toward the new year with personal challenges, plans and goals we set ourselves. So this is my 2013....

I will announce next month War on Cancer's sponsored annual endurance challenge event for 2013 - I hope to see a return to last years team...and I hope many new faces too! - I said it this year ( yikes )...but really want to move WoC forward in 2013......if you did the challenge and enjoyed it, please come join in 2013 and bring some friends to do the challenge with you! - this will be Spring bank weekend 2013.

I've not given up on a indoor wall climb challenge and will eventually wear you all down so you agree to do it! - I plan on trying to do my bit....and I really have poor upper body strength these days because of the amount of chest muscle I had cut away.....but I want to be part of a wall climb challenge....come help me out!

Mt.Kilimanjaro beckons me to complete the challenge I set myself back in 2010 while recovering from my chemo....this will be Sept/Oct time....help raising sponsorship will be gratefully accepted for this and all events of course!

And my final endurance challenge for 2013 will be with friends as we power walk the New York Marathon 2013 ( if we can secure places ) in November. This will not be for WoC...but Walk the Walk uniting against breast cancer charity.....the same charity we did the London Moonwalk for in 2011.

So after my day surgery in January - hopefully this will end my set backs and then I can concentrate on getting fit and building up my stamina once more....anyone wanting to come join me is more than welcome. 2013 is going to be a very exciting year and I look forward to sharing it with you.

My bucket list never gets shorter and if any of yours do.....I'd question what you are doing wrong! - I'm very fortunate that some of you want to come along and join me in some of my challenges and I hope to see you on more.

Remember Life is for living....Life life, No regrets!

Until next time
Tracy

Indoor climbing sponsored challenge - fancy it?

Hello everyone

It's been quite a while since I posted, sorry for that, but between courses and infections time has passed me by!

So not much response on the indoor endurance sponsored climbing event I mentioned - not sure if this is because you think it would be too hard, don't think it's a good idea, or keep thinking, I must get back about that one! I really like the idea of it, but cannot organise it for a team of one!

So the idea is, we get a team of enthusiastic people together who want a great challenge to get the blood pumping and can spare a day to do it. We actively try and involve the local papers/radio to get War on Cancer out there and gain some followers and sponsor pledges. We the "climbing team" - then set about climbing the equivalent height of Mt.Everest - this will be a tough challenge, but so rewarding...and of course a massive team effort! Anyone who has ever had any involvement with War on Cancer's event know we have a great team spirit going - I hope to get a tram together to do this challenge and show everyone else how good and strong our team spirit is.

Can you contact me through this blog, Facebook or phone to register your interest with me - I would ideally like to look at sometime in November for this event.

Big shout out virtual hugs to my cousin Jane who is ploughing on through her treatments. She has had a few dodgy do's and a couple of hospital stays but is in fine fighting spirit. From myself and all War on Cancer readers, I wish you continuing love and support in your battle with cancer - you are a really strong, positive lass and I know you can keep strong through it all. Your outlook on life and sense of humour show through when times are a little rougher - you go girl! So hugs and kisses from us all.

I've been pretty much out of it from a physical/ exercise point of view for the last few months. I am in this terrible cycle of infections! I have practically had an infection for the last 8/10 weeks nonstop. Uti and kidney infections abound! I have been seeing my bladder specialist every 3 weeks and everytime I go back to see him, another raging infection.

So I was back this week to see him, yes another raging infection ( I asked if it was the same one just not clearing properly), so he said we'll start you on another series of antibiotics, clear the infection and see what's what when it's gone. So he was going to put me on a high does antibiotic for 5 days and then a nightly low dose one for a number of months - he says to me, that will definitely clear it up. I pointed out that the low dose one he was going to put me on I was already on and had been for over 5 months, and that he'd put me on them!

He then checked the lab results of my last culture sent off about 3 weeks prior to see that the infection had become resistant to the antibiotic I'd been on for all those months....seems the bacteria is fighting back! So I am on tow different antibiotics and the long term low dose one I'll be taking in a few days is actually going to be 250 mg's a night. I will take this for initially 3 months, I will see him again in 6 weeks and then a further follow up after the 3 months to see what's going on. Of course if I am still getting flare up's in between, I'll be back with him for further action.

He said to me, don't worry, we will get there. I said okay we'll get there, but please appreciate where I am right now, I am feeling unwell all the time, extremely tired through the infection and broken and very poor sleep. I'm suffering with a fever, lower back pain and flank pain almost constantly. Not to mention the  bladder spasms, bearing down pains and all the usual symptoms you suffer with a uti... this is a really debilitating situation to be in and very frustrating too.

At the end of the next 3 months worth of antibiotics - I will have been on them  for over 10 months straight - it makes me wonder long term how that will effect everything....will my body start building up a resistance to them and so reduce their effectiveness on me? - who knows.

My biggest frustration with this is the fact it is again stopping me from cracking on with my exercising! - I'm sure anyone who has ever read any of the blogs know that I am very driven and motivated to exercise, to
get myself fit again, to increase my stamina and endurance.

I want to personally exercise for various reasons and I'm always encouraging others to do the same, the health benefits are great.

I exercise to help my body fight off the threat of certain cancers, to try keep my bones has strong and healthy as possible - especially since I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis brought on by the chemotherapy. The best way to help your own body try and fight Osteo is weight bearing exercises - this stops your body releasing much needed calcium from your bones. I don't even fully understand the implications of the Osteo on my body or my future life, but I know I want to do everything in my power to try and reduce the potential impact  of what is known as the "Silent disease" - I don't know all the ins and outs, I know the risk is greater for very low impact fractures, the real risk area's are wrist, spine and pelvis....so yes I get frustrated when I cannot get out exercising.

I am due my DEXA scan in the first quarter of 2013 - the results from this will be interesting. Since my first scan where I was diagnosed with full blown Osteoporosis ( Doctors quote ), I did 11 months on the cancer prevention drug Letrozole which causes Osteo....so it will be interesting to see what impact the drug had on my body already with Osteo verses my exercising and attempts to stop/slow down the diseases impact on my body. Interesting times ahead!

I'm busy studying now - a fully fledged student no less! - in between job hunting and all that, I am now attending Bradford College for two separate courses. I am doing a part-time Bsl course which I love! and also a ITQ course. The ITQ is computer office applications - the modules I've chosen are Excel, Word and Access ( databases ), these are required more and more these days from potential employers....we live in the electronic world now and these skills are necessary in the job market for anything office based, so if you aren't already working, this course and qualifications will help you immensely.

So I'm a busy lass looking at re-training and moving my life into a new direction.....this is very exciting and I'm enjoying every second of it. So two part-time college courses, a maths refresher course, job searching and a 6 month voluntary job search related package have got me really busy and on my toes these days and I couldn't be happier.

I've come a long way since stopping my cancer prevention drug - I'm no longer ill and unfit for work - I'm back out there living my life, It proves if you want it bad enough....you will do whatever you need  to get it!

Remember - life is for living, no regrets!!

Until next time
Tracy

Charity car wash was fun

Hello everyone
Sunday's car wash was fun and certainly much warmer than the one we last held in February this year!

Thank you to all the volunteers who gave up part of their Sunday to come help and support, so thank you Stuart, Jane, Andrea, Caroline, Robyn and Rayne. It was in actual fact very quiet, at first I thought it must have been because we were doing it on the Sunday instead of a Saturday....then we remembered it was actually the beer festival in nearby Saltaire ( World heritage site ), we joked saying we should have set up in the centre of Saltaire - business would have been booming!

Regardless of the fact it was quieter, we still had a good few hours and lots of fun to boot!.... my sister Caroline has been banned from controlling the hosepipe has her skills only covered drenching her fellow volunteers more than the cars!! We raised a nice £94.00 from the car wash and a further £20.00 on two T-shirts my cousin Andrea ordered. So all in all a tidy £114.00 raised on the day. This had taken the total raised so far to just over £4500.00 - very pleased with the ways things are progressing.

I will keep checking the weather in the next month - and if we are due a good weekend and enough volunteers are available, I will try fit in another before it gets too cold.

I am going to look into a winter indoor endurance team challenge - probably around November - this will be a good fun day, probably very tiring, but will be a massive achievement for those who wish to be part of something just a little bit different. I will check it all out and get back to you....but I guarantee, it will take the whole team playing their part for it to be a success.

I'm thinking with professional help of course - if everything including costs can be agreed ( hopefully Lost Earth Adventures ) - an indoor climbing sponsored challenge - please friends around the world - see if you can do the same local to you, set up a team and do the sponsored challenge on the same day - and we'll compete for the fastest time or something to become War on Cancer's World Champions!! we can make it and annual event - see which team rule supreme - just because you are not here doesn't mean you cannot mirror some of the events if you feel passionately enough about what War on Cancer is all about.

FEEDBACK FOR YOU ALL WOULD BE REALLY NICE - LETS SET UP AN INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE - War on Cancer and I would love that very much!

Okay the indoor winter sponsored challenge I'm going to look into is a team challenge ( hopefully taken up around the world in aid of and the name of War on Cancer - is Climbing the equivalent height of Mt. Everest in a day! - I will check out the costs and logistics of this and of course the minimum amount of team members  required for this challenge. I hope you feed back to me about this crazy fun idea - how many people will ever be able to say they along with their team members climbed the height of Mt. Everest in a day!!

Get back to me please and let me know if you would be interested in this great challenge - especially our friends around the world - I would love for it to happen elsewhere too!

Okay, until next time
Tracy

Charity car wash

Hello everyone

I hope you weekend is going well and you are enjoying yourselves whatever you are doing, this is a quick blog to remind you good folks about the charity car wash tomorrow.

We will be there from noon until 16.00pm, the cost per car as always is a fantastic bargain of £3.00! Keep your fingers crossed that the weather is going to be okay, but no matter, we will be there with our sponges and smiles!

You could always combine eating at the pub while we wash your car - what a great relaxing way of getting your car cleaned while enjoying some great pub grub!

I hope you can make it, please tell your family and friends about it, the more cars the merrier, help us raise a load of money for my two chosen cancer charities - Walk the Walk uniting against breast cancer and Clic Sargent children's cancer charities, two very worthy charities who are doing great work to help eradicate cancer for future generations.

So remember, share this blog on your social networking sites, tell family, friends and neighbours - make me and my fantastic team of volunteers work our butts off in the name of War on Cancer.....we really don't mind!

Thank you all for your continued support

Until next time
Tracy

Total raised by Yorkshire 3 Peak challenge announced!

Hello everyone
I am extremely happy and proud to announce that the Yorkshire 3 Peak sponsored challenge that took place on June 2nd 2012 raised a fantastic £1811.00!! Here's a little diagram and photos of the 3 peaks to remind everyone of what a superb effort the whole climb was.

The Yorkshire 3 Peaks is a tough endurance walk over 25 miles and rough terrain. A superb team of 23 people stepped up for the challenge on Sat June 2nd to tackle the 3 peaks. It's hard to describe what a great bunch of family & friends set off that morning on a grueling 12 hours plus day of climbing over very tough and rough terrain. The weather was supposed to be pretty fair, but turned out to not be so, but no-one allowed the cold, wet weather to dampen their spirits.

Our new friends and mountain guides Richard & Sarah, owners of Lost Earth Adventures and their crew of mountain leaders did us proud that day, making sure not only did everyone get around the 3 peaks safely, but that everyone enjoyed themselves as well. The best compliment I could ever have got was when the whole mountain crew praised every single walker on  them making the day a pleasure for them to work with, and that they had had a great time laughing and joking with everyone.

Richard said it was one of the best days he had been involved in and thank me for letting them be part of War on Cancers first annual endurance challenge. He, Sarah and the others said it had being a truly inspiring experience. Everyone worked really hard that day, but your hard work has paid off handsomely, raising a awe inspiring £1811.00 and raised cancer awareness at the same time. Richard & Sarah, I and WOC look forward to collaborating with you and Lost Earth Adventures in the near future and for many years to come. To every single one of you walkers I and WoC thank you deeply for taking part.

I eagerly await December when I will announce the 2013 sponsored challenge - I hope the team who did this years challenge come take part in the 2013 one and hopefully we can from our tales of our experiences encourage more friends will come join us, it would be great to improve and surpass 2012 with the number of people involved, and hopefully the amount raised. This years challenge was a huge success, not just in the amount of money we raised but in the enjoyment factor of everyone involved.

I thank each and everyone of you who read the blog, share the blog, check out the ads, take part in the events and challenges and most importantly - those of you who always give  unwavering support to WoC and myself, who support the cause I believe so strongly in, and take up with great humour any crazy, mad and sometimes exhausting challenges and events without ever batting an eyelid.

Thank you for helping me to make my dreams of raising money and awareness for cancer come true, you are all my hero's, without all of you, WoC wouldn't exist. You make me so proud.

Until next time
Tracy

Charity car wash date confirmed

Hello everyone

A very brief update today, just to tell you the car wash is confirmed!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, we have had a gloriously sunny day here in West Yorkshire! Here's a sunset I shot last weekend, it is as nice tonight for sure.

The car wash will take place on Sunday 16th September from noon - 16.00pm, after that you'll find some of our volunteers checking out Saltaire's beer festival!

We will be holding the car wash at our usual place. The Sun Inn at Cottingley, a big thank you as always to Mike for allowing us to use the car-park and for him donating the water! Hope to see you there, we will be waiting with our sponges and smiles.

Thank you to the volunteers who are giving up their Sunday afternoon to help raise money for cancer charities, without you, these events couldn't take place.

 Until next time
Tracy

Total raised from the Yorkshire 3 peaks to be announced shortly!

Here's a photo of the moon I shot on September 2nd. Really happy with the clarity of it.

I am happy to announce I almost have a total raised from the Yorkshire 3 peak sponsored challenge back in June. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I can give you a total very soon!

The endurance challenge for 2013 will be announced in December - so this allows people to sort out a training programme and accommodation for the sponsored event.I hope we get at least the same amount if not more  entrants for the 2013 challenge - it would be great to get more people to work hard on our endurance challenge while raising money and awareness for cancer charities.

Who's up for another sponsored endurance event next year??? How about you getting a team together to climb ( on an indoor climbing wall ) the equivalent of Mt.Everest in a day between your team??? up to the challenge? know enough friends who would be willing to have a go??.....watch this space!

I'm still trying to sort out volunteers for a charity car wash - I'm looking at Sunday 16th September...I will confirm if I get enough volunteers, it would be nice to get a car wash in before it gets too cold - also we haven't had a chance to use the new enlarged posters, hopefully they will bring in more passing motorists!!...it's either that or I'll be borrowing some traffic cones to re-direct the cars through the car wash ;)

I had another great climb up Whernside this week, I was improved from my climb two weeks ago, I felt really good and am looking forward to my next one! Will be climbing it again in the next couple of weeks....and also have a Pen-Y-Ghent climb coming up too. I will be match fit be the end of the year if I can carry on like this.

I am back to see my bladder specialist next week for more tests, hopefully he will have some answers for me by the end of the tests....as yet it is unclear if the continuing problems I'm having are just a blip as it were, or if in actual fact, the procedures I had done to solve my problems have in fact made it worse....will know more next week.

Loving been outdoors hill climbing and power walking with Molly....not bothered with the gym, always better in the great outdoors!!

My big brother Graham has confirmed he will indeed be coming with me next year when I climb Mt.Kilimanjaro...this is great, I was always going to climb, even if it were just me....but will be brilliant going with my big bro!! My sister Caroline and old chum Mandy would love to be there at the bottom when when get back from our successful climb.....whether this in fact comes off I don't know....would be ace if it could happen. Then a couple of days chilling and recovering at the beach sounds good to me.

I am feeling full of confidence for my Mt.Kilimanjaro climb next year again - I was so very disheartened after my 3 peak challenge, it really shocked me how bad it was. But every week that goes by now see's me stronger and fitter. By the time we go to climb Sept/Oct time....I will be hopefully at my physical best - I know that will never be as it was before the cancer and consequent illnesses and issues I now live with....but it will be more than enough to see me up and down the world's tallest free standing mountain. I as always look forward to this challenge.

I am open to idea's to help get WoC out there and more recognised....Come the New Year, will push with the local papers and radio....anyone else think of something please contact me.

Also - thinking of putting WoC out for adoption......So you can adopt a certain event or a portion of the year or even the whole year! this is a great way for WoC to raise some funds....and for you good folks out there to get involved, whether it is for you personally or your business....I would love to hear from you all! - I will set out a section to promote you/your business if you come forward to adopt us.....will it sell it better to you, if I promise it's not me you are adopting, and no I won't turn up on your doorstep with my belongings ;)

Please seriously consider adopting us for an event, or for a time period....I will make sure you get the recognition you deserve for this. Also we need Ambassadors for War on Cancer - to help spread the word, to tell people what we are doing, and what we are about.All of you can help me keep raising awareness and money to help eradicate cancer for future generations.

So until next time when I announce the 3 peak total raised, take care
Tracy

Successful climb of Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales

  Hello everyone
Here I am at the summit of Greater Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales with my cousin Andrea. The photo below is of Andrea and her husband Simon....the three of us went off and climbed Whernside Sunday just gone.

                                             

I cannot tell you how much I am still buzzing from climbing this peak this weekend gone, the last time I climbed this was in June when we were tackling the Yorkshire 3 peaks as a sponsored challenge for WOC. I was very unwell on the way down and had to call it a day when I reached the bottom, the support vehicle had to take me back to the start/finish point where I spent the next 6 hours being sick. Although I know realistically I had done well to finish one of the peaks, especially since I'd only recently made the decision to stop taking my cancer prevention drug 3 years early because of all the serious complications I had been suffering from taking it. I had only also been back in the gym a matter of weeks. I had hoped in all honesty to complete two of the three....however it wasn't my time then.

So to be invited by my cousins to go back and have another crack at it was brilliant. Thank you Andi & Si for asking me! It was the best feeling in the world to complete Whernside and have no illness or adverse side effects on the day or the day after. It feels like another massive personal step to my own full recovery. I know we cannot live in hindsight, but sometimes I question why I gave the cancer prevention drugs two years and didn't stop them earlier. Well  no matter what happens in my future, I know I gave the drugs my best shot. But couldn't live with the lack of quality of life anymore.... like I said before, I am too young to be struggling to get myself out of bed and dressed.

Don't get me wrong, I am still on a nerve blocking pain killer, but now I'm off the cancer drug, my joint stiffness, muscle and bone pain is manageable and my flexibility and movement is very much improved and I feel totally validated in my decision to stop the Letrozole. Hell I can click my fingers to the beat of a song again!!

There are some more photos loaded in the gallery from the climb, and we were lucky to have some visibility at the summit. It was a cloudy overcast day with the odd blast off sun breaking through the clouds, it was a warm day though. When you climb Whernside, it is a long sweeping climb up, starting off by walking along the side of the Ribblehead Viaduct where the Settle to Carlisle steam train still passes. There are some steep parts to climb on route to the summit, which is 736m or 2414ft. When had some food and a drink at the summit. It started to drizzle has we set off on our descent down the other side of the peak, it didn't take long for it to start raining pretty heavy, which it more or less maintained the whole way down.....it in no way spoiled our climb and we were in fine fettle, laughing and joking all the way down. The rain soaked through my  waterproof jacket, we were all pretty drenched through to the skin by the time we got back to the car. The climb is actually  8.02 miles, but this is over very rough terrain and a fair old climb up and a very steep section on the descent which was made much more difficult with the rocks been slippy with the rain. We didn't rush and completed the walk in around 3.5-4.0 hours... I can't remember exactly.

We are going to go climb Pen-Y-Ghent in a few weeks time, I am really looking forward to this because I never made it that far in June. My plan is to climb all three peaks separately this year, and if I don;t get chance to tackle all three this year, I will definitely try next year. It was a challenge and I want to make up for failing this year.

I am planning on getting out walking a lot through the autumn and winter, cutting down on the gym and getting a mix of flat and hill walking in....I need to get out in the rough terrain to help build up my stamina and endurance more, because of the fatigue I'm fine until I hit empty, then it's hard to find anything in reserve, I want to change that by next year.....after all I hope to have a really busy year catching up on my challenges that I didn't complete or had to delay until 2013. So as well as completing the Yorkshire 3 peaks, I will be tackling Mt. Kilimanjaro and also as long as I can get places, the plan is to power walk the New York marathon for Walk the Walk uniting against breast cancer charity. It will be a great year with so much going on, I cannot wait to sink my teeth into it...and after my successful climb of Whernside, I have regained my equilibrium after my disappointments earlier in the year. I still feel like I'm improving almost daily still from the stopping of the Letrozole and Simvastatin....long may it continue!!

Until next time

Tracy  

Love your family and friends - for they love you!

Hello everyone

I hope you are all getting ready for the weekend no matter what the weather is going to be! We in the UK will be enjoying an extended weekend as it's a bank holiday.

I find it funny how things come about that show you how much you are loved and cherished, this always for whatever reason makes me feel very humble. It's not so much that I think I don't deserve it, but more that I can't understand what I've done or how I instill this feeling on others.

My cousin Andrea txt me to ask if I wanted to go climb Whernside this coming weekend with her and her husband Simon. Her sister, my cousin Sue and her hubby Bill are going too. Simon, Andrea and Sue successfully completed the Yorkshire 3 Peak Challenge in June. Now anyone who has read my blog will know Whernside is one of the 3 Yorkshire Peaks from the endurance challenge I organised this June just gone. Whernside was the only peak I managed on my failed quest, the one I was so very poorly climbing back down from, and the one where I had to accept defeat on the day. I said I would go back to re-do it and hopefully prove I could easily do it without any ill effects.

So I of course jumped at the chance to go prove to myself I could do it and regain some confidence back. My wonderful cousins  Andrea and Simon have decided they  will be picking me up and will be driving, Simon said he isn't going to let me drive there and back, and they are going to leave a car at either end of Whernside just in case I do take poorly again, so I can be driven back to the Station Inn pub where we will start from. How amazing is that? that my family are willing to put some much thought and planning into their walk so I can go safely with them. Thank you so very much for thinking of me!

 I feel so very blessed with the people in my life, so very honoured to call these folks family and friends. So very grateful to them for recognising my need to push myself to achieve the challenges I set myself, no matter how hard they are. To encourage me along saying they'll be there with me instead of saying it's too much, and don't try. A smile and a gentle squeeze is all the encouragement I need, my determination can never be called into question, even if my body cannot always live up to the tasks I set it. I don't for one minute regret being so tough on myself .

As I sit on the cusp of my new life, this new chapter that is starting to open up.....I wait to see if I've been accepted for a placement at college on a part-time course, this is stage one of a completely new career direction for me. It's my second chance in live, and I'm planning on making it a life I truly feel rewarded for doing, it's not about the money, the position or the promotion. I've done all that, personally found it not worth it, too many hours, too much stress and not time or energy to enjoy all my hard work. This time, on my second chance, I want to really give something back, to feel rewarded not financially but emotionally by making someone else's life hopefully a little easier.

Social media gets quite a lot of bad press, always about the affairs that happen because of it, the cheating, whether it be in a real meet-up, or through intent alone...let's remember if it's through intent alone, you can guarantee it's only because geographically it's harder or impossible to meet up for real.

 These kind of stories are all we ever hear about, but lets remember the positive side to any social media network - the side that allows family and friends to easier and cheaply stay in touch across the globe. To all the innocent cyber friendships that are made and maintained and in some cases end up stronger than our real life friendships! These are the wonderful things that social media networks like Facebook can give us. And don't forget the chance to reconnect with people from our past, old friends we lost touch with over the years, friendships from childhood where one family moved away and the letters eventually ceased to be posted. And for many millions of us, a chance to catch up with old school chums!! I love the positive side of something like Facebook, and remember the "bad" people out there who use this medium to start flirting, having illicit affairs etc will always find a way, if not here then somewhere else. A cheater is always a cheater wherever they and whatever they do. Don't allow those few to taint the wonderful gift of social media for the masses.

I myself in recent months have had the enormous pleasure of re-connecting with some old school chums, some I had gone to school with from the age of four, others from the age of nine....all lost in the busyness of life from the age of thirteen....new schools brought on meeting and gaining new friends - and in that time of confusion and uncertainty....old comfortable friendships were lost along the way....no-one to blame, just real life taking over in the whirlwind of settling into new schools.

I went to meet one of my old school chums Maggie this Sunday gone, what a great time we had....it was really nice as we had no awkward stunted conversations, the years just fell away, we were all relaxed, I met her husband Pete and one of her sons Daniel, they were great and very easy to get on with. We chatted about school and about what had being going on in our lives over the last three decades, it all just blended and was a really relaxing day. Maggie summed it up really well, she said anyone watching us, our conversation and our body language would never believe it had been 30 years since we had last being in each others company. So through social media, I have gotten back a very good friend of mine, and I will be eternally grateful to it. I looked forward to our next meet up and more catching up.

Everyday life is very difficult for many people all of the time for many various reasons, from things like, health, financially,physically, emotionally and in many cases a mixture of all of them. So with this in mind, I know I am very lucky indeed to have family and friends who want to spend time with me, not because it's an obligation, but genuine want, but I spare a thought for those who aren't as blessed as me, for those who are lonely and feel unloved,those struggling everyday with constraints on their lives, and  this is why I want to give back, to show those less fortunate that someone does care enough to want to improve their lives by showing an interest in them, to try and ease some of their difficulties, I can't do that financially, but I can do that emotionally, and I do try.

Until next time
Tracy

Charity car wash date to be announced shortly

Hello everyone

I will be announcing shortly the date for our charity car wash ( hopefully it won't have to be cancelled because of illness this time! ) We have some dates been banded around my volunteers trying to secure one when there are a few of us available to attend. The bigger posters are great, and hopefully will help us catch the eyes of passing motorists. We will be holding the car wash at our usual venue The Sun Inn at Cottingley, where the landlord Mike generously allows us to not only camp out in his carpark for the day...but donates the water to out cause....big thank you as always to you Mike :)

We may not have experienced the best of weather again this summer, it has been miserable, wet and grey for a very large part of it, but it hasn't stopped us getting out and enjoying ourselves. I guess this is why when the sun does make an appearance, we all charge out to soak up some natural Vitamin D!! ....I hope on these days, you have been sensible and have used sun lotion!

It's so strange how cancer and it's treatments affect everyone so differently. This is why they try to design the treatment package around the individual as much as possible. Then each and everyone of us will go through the invasive treatments and be effected so very differently. Some people will go through the invasive treatments and any follow up prevention drugs with little to no problems whatsoever. Others will have mild reactions and some more severe.

When asked about the chemo, I say I feel like I was taken out of my body while poison was poured into it to  save my life, and when I've been put back in...I don't quite fit in right anymore.....somethings not quite right. That's the best description I can come up with for it.

I describe myself as one of those who have been effected quite a bit. Not so much from the invasive treatments...but from big issues from the follow up prevention drugs. My current health issues are a cascade from the invasive treatments or from the follow up prevention drugs ( which I decided to stop 3 years early ). When starting the second of my chosen chemo's, this threw me into a chemical induced premature menopause - I haven't come out of this since and it now seem unlikely that I will..this has it's own issues attached to it. This also brought on Osteoporosis and a life time of medications to take. This silent disease affects my life in what I can or cannot longer participate in, having to be careful what sports you take up and what adrenalin challenges you can try....no more chances to parachute again or do a bungee jump etc. This I find quite hard, I've always liked the idea of trying things a little different. I still don't really know or understand that much about it, and suppose I need to find out more, to understand what is a fair risk and what is not, so not to put myself in too much danger of broken bones etc. High cholesterol brought on by the last cancer prevention drug I was on...which as well as stopping the cancer drug, I stopped the cholesterol tablet too....told my GP I want to control it through diet, in theory, I should be okay anyway as I have stopped the cancer drug so my cholesterol should drop back down. I will have a follow up blood test done in a couple of months to check on my progress with that one.

They say your immune system recovers - I haven't found that so much myself, I seem to be quite susceptible to bugs and virus's going around, this is why sometimes you feel like it it's one step forward, two steps back, the important thing for me is to just keep getting back up again and getting back into the groove. It took me a long time to accept I'm never going to be the fit lass who played hockey in the Yorkshire leagues, the lass who could play kick around for hours on end, and any number of other sports. Accepting I have new limitations was difficult, but now I'm there I find I can still self challenge and I am feeling more comfortable in my body and mind. I still set myself the hardest of challenges, to drive myself forward as much as I can....my family think I push myself too hard at times, and in fairness I probably do - but it's what I do, it is who I am, it's what gets me up and at them! We all need something to motivate ourselves, and we all find our motivation in different ways...as long as we find our own and get out there pushing to be the best we can, it doesn't matter where it comes from.  

I have not been out walking and exercising in a week now, I am just starting to come around from a severe water infection and a kidney infection, it has been a tough one, but the antibiotics are kicking in now thankfully. I actually see my bladder specialist today for a follow up from my procedures I had done under general about 4 weeks ago. So it will be interesting to see what his opinion of this is. I'm hoping it is just an unlucky blip and not part of something else. I started with problems with my bladder almost 2 years ago....and would really love for it to be sorted now.

When I had my procedures done, it was to take up to a couple of weeks to settle down and then we could see how successful everything had gone, straight after my consultant was happy that this was the case. About 2 weeks after the procedures, I have started having problems when passing water....without getting too graphic, I am experiencing pressure/flow problems again. As to whether this latest severe infection is actually connected to this, only the consultant will know....it could be a blip as I've said, or it could be that my bladder is not emptying properly and the infection has been caused by the "reservoir" of urine that doesn't empty. I sincerely hope this is not the case as I do not want to carry on suffering infection after infection....they are really rather debilitating and painful to say the least. So fingers crossed everything will be okay now.

It's coming up to around the 5 month mark since I stopped taking the Letrozole ( cancer prevention drug) and I still feel I am improving!. The joint pain and stiffness is so much more manageable now, I know I'm still on a painkiller for this problem, but before when I was still on the Letrozole and the painkiller,I could hardly manage the pain of the stiff and swollen joints. I am a lot freer in my movements these days. The muscle/bone pains are also very much improved. As well as many other issues I was having, and I don't for one second regret stopping the drug and know full well the risks I have taken by doing this. I will say again, it is quality of life that is important. The balance has to be right for you as an individual, no-one but you can say if yours is okay for you. I had the lengthy, lively debates with the medical world when I told them I was done with the prevention drugs, but in fairness they did eventually come around and agreed with me about the quality of life.

Here's a re-cap of the last few years of my life, I never once have thought why me, what did I do to deserve this....life sometimes throws you a curved ball....it's not the curve of the ball you have to worry about - it's how you swing your bat at it!

 - Severe ankle injury, out of action for 5 months. Major issues with previous employer of 23 yrs ( new top management set on) - took them to tribunal, father passed away, discovery and confirmation of cancer,surgery, chemo and radiation treatment for cancer, bout of pneumonia and a collapsed lung cutting chemo short, other health issues cascaded from cancer treatments, relationship breakdown after 14years and currently selling and breaking up the home.

So here I am, just on the cusp of a completely new start, a new chapter in my life, I am giddy for what my new life can be....where the world is laid out waiting for me to grasp the parts I want. And what I want is really quite simple.....I want to live my life to the full, spend time with loving family & friends.... ones who want to spend time  with me, lose the ones who don't or try to bring me down....tackle things on my bucket list, add things to my bucket list. Live life with open curiosity for things around me, stop and take in my surroundings, and most importantly, give back to others  - give hope to those who are struggling to find it themselves right now, show through positivity what can be...I will to live my life with no regrets!

I have promised myself, when I finally get back my body shape.....My reward will be that saying in a tattoo... Live with no regrets.....

Here's to a bright new future, clear the dead wood, the negativity from your lives - if you live to be 100, life is still too short, don't waste time on things or people who bring you nothing but stress and unhappiness....make positive changes in your lives and enjoy,enjoy.enjoy!!

Until next time
Tracy

Post Olympic blues? - go out and exercise!

Hello everyone
I've been playing around with various photo editing programme's, here's a modified photo of the Morning Glory in my back garden, love the colour arrangement very much, must say the plant is really thriving this year, by far the best showing this year..I've taken this off my instagram account - if you want to follow - I'm jellygould67. Hope this brightens your day!

Well how are we all feeling now the Olympics is over? It seems strange not switching on the TV and seeing hours of wonderful sport. I am very heartened to hear how many people who do not normally follow sport, got into London 2012. Hopefully this amazingly successful games will inspire a whole generation worldwide to take up and keep up a sport. As I have been out power walking on the beautiful Leeds Liverpool Canal it has been truly wonderful to see so many people out and about, from the elderly to families, all out doing some exercise while thoroughly enjoying themselves.

I know I am really fortunate to be able to do my walking along side the canal, it really is a great place to walk. This photo is the 5 rise locks at Bingley in West Yorkshire, opened in 1774 and is grade listed I. It is an engineering feat and unique, it is in actual fact a 5 rise staircase, the back of one lock opens directly into the next.These locks rise 60 ft in height, with a 30 ft 3 rise just a little lower down the valley. As part of my 6 mile walk, I always climb up the side of the 3 and 5 rise...this definitely gets the heart pumping :) We infact did all our London Moonwalk 2011 training on the canal, it got us ready to power walk the 26.2 miles that night!

 In these times where globally we are all under immense pressure financially, finding things to do with the family that isn't going to break the bank is hard. Everyday things and product prices have rocketed and many people are struggling to be able to have even the basics. So getting out walking and or cycling is something we can all afford to do. Exercise is really good for us, we know it help keep our bones strong, helps ward off illnesses, and has been proven to actively prevent certain cancers. Walking is attainable by the majority, regardless of our own limitations and will certainly improve, not just the body, but will help with our minds.

 You will feel more energised and more able to tackle your day, by exercising, you will be helping to protect yourself from heart problems, strokes, high blood pressure, non - insulin dependent diabetes, osteoporosis and obesity - to name a few. You will find it will help with your moods and also help you cope with stresses more effectively. Add into this mix good food choices and you are onto a winner.

Fruit and vegetables - we should all be looking at eating a minimum of 5 a day. Fruit and veg are a great source of vitamins and minerals, and there is evidence that people who eat at least 5 a day are at a lower risk of developing heart disease, strokes and certain cancers - that in itself should be enough of an incentive to start eating better! - remember, we only get one body to see us through our life! You will be amazed how you can quickly eat more than the 5 a day minimum....a really nice salad with lots of green leaves ( spinach, wild rocket, watercress and your normal salad leaves ), the usual tomatoes, cucumber, celery etc....and you are actively helping your body to look after you. Go on try mixing a good diet with some exercise and see the benefits to your weight and health yourself. Remember, we can actively improve our health by doing this.....I guess the big question is - how much do you love yourself ??? I f you struggle to keep up your motivation - ask a family member or friend to do it with you, encourage each other.

So right now, while everyone is still feeling the buzz of London 2012 - lets seize the moment and get out there exercising. Set yourselves challenges, you can do it. While researchers drive forward to improve treatments for cancer sufferers on the way to eradicating cancer from our lives in future generations.....we owe it to ourselves and loved ones to keep ourselves as fit and healthy as we possibly can. Our time on earth is short even if you live to be 100 - lets not help our time be even shorter by not giving our bodies a fair crack at it.

Until next time
Tracy

Actively helping ourselves

Hello everyone

I have been very cheered as I've been out power walking with my dog at the amount of people out exercising. I'm very fortunate where I live to be able to go walking in beautiful surroundings like this picture shows. This is the famous Bingley five rise locks that were built in 1774, the locks rise a total of 60 feet over the five locks. A little further down the canal are the  three rise locks which cover 30 feet . These locks are situated on the Leeds/Liverpool canal, and where locks are commonplace along England's canals, the five rise is unique.

The wonderful Olympics will have encouraged folks outdoors and this is fantastic news, for the parents whose child/children have got caught up in the buzz, keep them exercising and give them a start in life built around a healthy lifestyle with a good mix of exercise. We only get one body and need to understand it is in our interests to look after it as much as possible.

The amount of people enjoying the canal towpath has been great, from the walkers, to families and the cyclists, although I do wish the cyclists would show a little more respect for other enjoying the canal. Many don't even have a bell to alert others that they are approaching, and in some cases far too fast. Molly my dog actually got clipped twice on Wednesday by cyclists. She now has a sore shoulder, but it could quite as easily have been a child that they clipped. They were going too fast to have stopped in time. So if you are reading this and like cycling on the canal as I do....please be better aware of others around you - it is afterall there for all of us to use!

I've been back in the gym this week after my recovery time from my day surgery the other week. I have been much encouraged with my breathing, it is definitely improved and makes me think I must have had a virus or something. So back to trying to get as fit as possible and build up my stamina. I have two challenges that didn't happen this year that I want to catch up on next year - so 2013.....a big year for me personally, I love challenging myself, it keeps me motivated to get out there pushing myself to get back to the old fitter me as much as possible. I fact I plan to be fitter than I was pre - cancer diagnosis!

It's 4.5 months since I decided to call it a day on taking my cancer prevention drug, and I have seen a massive improvement in myself physically. I am still improving and have no regrets to what I did. I understand the possibilities and risks from my decision, but can tell all of you, that for me personally ( and it is very much a personal decision ) it was the right thing to do. I have lost over 26lbs in this time, my joint stiffness is much improved, the muscle, joint and bone pains have reduced so much, I said I would like to live with no regrets and this is one of those moments. Life is for living, not existing, and that's what I'm doing.

Again I'll ask for those who still have Yorkshire 3 peak sponsor money to collect to let me know, I would really like to write a blog announcing how much we raised through everyone's fantastic efforts by the end of August, so please lets get it collected in and show everyone what a great effort we did.

I want to say RIP to a dear friend, Mags, who valiantly fought until the end, but was sadly taken from us very recently. A great lady, who will be missed by many.

Sending positive thoughts to my cousin's wife Jane who has just started her invasive treatments, and I know you will all send her positive vibes too. You are a fighter and I know you are going to keep fighting positively through your treatments - love to you and Stuart.

So come on everyone, after we have been sat glued to the Olympics and all those amazing athletes who have performed beyond even their dreams with all the smashed Olympic, World and Personal bests in the biggest arena in the sporting calender. Let us all get out exercising, setting ourselves targets, motivated to besting our own personal bests whenever we can. Positively helping our bodies to fight off certain cancers, potential illnesses and help us to feel better about ourselves. Increase our energy levels and help our metabolisms kick in to burn off our energy, rather than store it as fat for another time. We can all do something to help ourselves to our own individual limitations. I hope you take up the challenge to help your body to help you!

Until next time

Tracy

Ignoring the non existent British summertime!

Hello everyone

Ignoring the non existent British summertime, I'm hoping the the London Olympics are inspiring everyone to address there fitness levels and get out there exercising! Hopefully young and old alike are looking into doing some for of exercise. You will definitely benefit from it. We in the UK have had a successful games in a wide variety of sports and hopefully this will get a generation of youngsters off the computers and game consoles and outside in the fresh air. Come on mum's & dad's encourage your kids out exercising!

There has been various reports issued this week on the cancer front. There's quite a bit of controversy at the moment surrounding what the experts are saying are overstated benefits from mammograms, and that they failed to inform women of the risks in their last public advertising campaign from the Komen cancer group.

Doctors believe the ads are misleading and giving false promises. There has been much controversy surrounding mammograms for many years, in recent years studies have shown that they have shown tumours that  may never cause harm, but treating them causes physical, emotional and financial implications. To be fair, women should be giving all available information, both the positive and negative, so they themselves can make a decision for themselves based on the most recent facts.

Further news out today says a new vaccine for kidney cancer is looking promising! Currently there are clinical trials taking place for a vaccine in the fight against kidney cancer. The vaccine is made up of synthetic tumour associated peptides ( pure science! ), unlike chemo, the vaccine works by triggering of the bodies own killer T-cells to attack the tumour. This active immunization against the cancer can be effective and prolong the life of the patient with less adverse effects from chemotherapy the study results show. So more groundbreaking work going on in the continuous fight against cancer.

Also today, the reports about chemotherapy undermining itself with rogue response in healthy cells. This in itself could explain why some people become resistant. For a significant number of patients it loses effectiveness with secondary cancers, US experts have said the chemotherapy causes a wound-healing cells around the tumour that help the cancer resist the treatment.

Around 90% of patients with a solid cancer - breast, lung, colon, prostrate, the cancers that spread ( metastatic disease ) develop resistance to the chemotherapy. Treatment is given in cycles of normally around a three or four week time period, this is to help the body cope with the toxicity and allow good cells to recover between treatments in order to not overwhelm the body, the downside to this is the possibility of the tumour cells recovering and developing a resistance. It was already known about that protein was involved in the development of cancers - but not in the resistance of treatment. Cancer treatments are evolving to be very specific, one of the next steps will be to find ways to target the resistance mechanisms to make chemotherapy more effective.
As it stands now, we have the available treatments that help us all have a better fighting chance, research is on-going and new avenues are being discovered all the time, we fight because it is right, and until the day a cure is found, we owe it to ourselves to keep fighting. Proactively help yourself, we only get one body to live in, keep it has fit and healthy as we possibly can. Help it to help you!

Until next time

Tracy

New blood cancer drug with the potential to save lives

Hello everyone

A short update, but ground breaking news potentially for blood cancer sufferers.

Before that - Happy Yorkshire Day! - I hope you all have a great day and manage to get some Yorkshire puddings today!

I've been reading about the new cancer drug breakthrough for blood cancer, researchers in Melbourne claim this new drug has the potential to save lives. This is fantastic news from the researchers...and what makes it even better is that it is only a matter of months away from human trials! The revolutionary new drugged could be used in patient trials before the end of the year.

This could be a major breakthrough for cancer sufferers of both Leukaemia and Lymphoma. This new drug scientists say will kill off the leukaemia and lymphoma cells by blocking their protein production. What the Melbourne researchers have shown is the cancers reliance on making new protein, and if you interfere with this process it effectively kills off the cancer cell, whilst not affecting a normal good cell. This would eliminate the need for chemotherapy and  thus spare the patient the serious side effects. The researchers say they have a new cancer drug and if tested successfully has the potential to save lives.

Lets keep our fingers crossed for successful trials and a major breakthrough in the treatment of blood cancers. Another positive step in the research towards eradicating cancer for future generations!

Like I say, short but sweet. Until next time

Tracy

Pink Palace garden party a success as usual!

Happy first birthday War on Cancer! - the blog is a year old now,this blog only exists because of all you,  you allow me  to show how you can live actively ( to your own individual limitations) and positively while surviving cancer, you support my cause, and this makes me very proud. It helped keep me motivated when I was suffering a bit healthwise with the cancer prevention drugs, and now I happily drive onwards planning and organising fun/endurance events to raise money and awareness for cancer.The biggest positive is the breaking down of the cancer taboo - people are still very frightened to talk about it. The more we talk, the more we learn and understand, the less scary it all becomes.

Sometimes our friends and loved ones don't survive, but even though tragically they pass away, they will always be fighters and winners in my book, they gave it their all and never gave up, you cannot ask more of anyone.Survival rates are improving, and treatments are getting better all the time...and all we can do is get out there, raise awareness and money for further research...and drive forward to eradicate cancer for future generations...this is what WoC is all about, why I will honestly answer questions about my fight, my treatments and what motivates me forward. If you have a question post it to me and I'll answer the best I can.

 I am well on the way to deciding what events will be held annually and when in the year ( difficult in UK when we have such a short dry period allegedly in the summer months! ). The endurance event was a huge success, and will definitely be held annually. I believe very strongly in this because it is a big commitment. You have to invest into it 100% - to commit yourself to the training. It was a fantastic team effort and definitely brought the group closer together. War on Cancer and I made some great friends in Richard and Sarah and gang from Lost Earth Adventures on the 3 Peak challenge, and I look forward to many years of collaborations in the future.

 Hopefully we will come up with some great endurance events that everyone will want to sink their teeth into and embrace having a go at something new. Ideas for the coming years include white water rafting, climbing the equivalent height of Mt.Everest between a team of climbers in a day - if we get enough climbers we can climb the equivalent of the top 3 highest mountains for example! , rock climbing, abseiling, firewalking and many more things to boot!...and what a massive bonus doing the endurance event - it gets us all out exercising, and as any regular reader knows, I bang on about the health improvements from our exercising, as well as proactively preventing certain cancers and other illnesses as well...come on WoC friends, get out and about more, help your body fight off illnesses!

The garden party was a great success and great fun as usual! A fantastic £410.00 was raised! . Thank you Caroline ( my sister ) for once again hosting your annual garden party as a charity event. The weather was a little hit and miss - but hey, it didn't stop us having fun.

It was brilliant to see families there enjoying themselves, all the kids were really well behaved and the adult kids did alright as well ;) Thanks Sue ( giggly) for donating the kick-ass chilli's, they went down a storm. Thank you to Jackie for helping me out on the bar...think we have become legends in our lifetimes, a bit of a comedy double act behind the cocktail bar so I've been informed! ....whatever sells the drinks does it for me ha ha :)
Thank you Pauline ( mum ) and Rita ( auntie) for running the tombola for us :)...it wouldn't happen without the help of our ever faithful volunteers.

Thank you to everyone who came, I hope you had as much fun as I did. It was a really chilled, relaxed affair, everyone chatting, laughing and gently ribbing each other! - a pleasure to see. I will load photos into the gallery, please be sure to go check them out, I've also updated the fundraising thermometer to the latest total.

As soon as the sponsor money for the 3 Peak Challenge is all in, I will of course update the blog....we are well on with the collecting of the monies now. I have the pleasure of announcing WoC is now financially totally self sufficient! not only does it have it's own paypal account, it now has it's own bank account.

 This is a great positive step forward for War on Cancer towards registering it as a charity in it's own right. I look forward to that day gleefully! - I need some friends/ businesses to become ambassadors for War on Cancer, to help get more notice for us, for people to champion us...hell come adopt me! - I mean WoC ;)....or both lol!! As we move into the second year of existence I hope that we carry on making leaps and bounds forward, to seriously get more recognition, business sponsorship, ( I'll take your company logo to the top of Mt.Kilimanjaro and the Yorkshire 3 peaks next yr! ) more people wanting to attack the events - send and sponsor a  team from your company to take part in  the 3 peak challenge! ....people in other parts of the country, the world, wanting to organise an event in our name, to go make cups of tea and chat to fellow survivors while they have their treatments, to show what can be after the invasive treatments have finished.....this is my vision of WoC's future. I say it will be as big or small as my imagination - I have the imagination and the vision of where I want to take War on Cancer...I don't have all the necessary skills/ connections - so please if you believe in War on Cancer and can help - contact me.

I want to really drive forward now and hope you all stay with me for the journey. I will always be eternally grateful to you all for everything you do. Please carry on talking and sharing War on Cancer with your friends and colleagues, together we really can make a difference, I hope this blog does, if it helps one person through a tough time, it is already a success.

Until next time

Tracy