Six weeks - are you ready for it?....no?...best get out climbing some hills then!

Here we have Pen-y-ghent, it raises 694m (2277ft) and is one of the 3 peaks we will be ascending in our charity sponsored challenge!

After the horrendous weather we have had this week, it's to be hoping that we have a major improvement before the big day!....I doubt I'll have much spare energy if I need to be fighting my way out of a bog!!

Pen-y-ghent is actually the lowest of the three peaks, but it is by no means less spectacular, with it's towering cliffs, escarpments, caves and potholes.

The Ribblehead viaduct on the Carlisle-Settle railway is dwarfed by Whernside, the elevation is 736m (2415ft) and on a clear day from the summit you can see The Lake District and Morecambe Bay....with the aid of a pair of binoculars you can see Blackpool Tower some 40 miles away.
For those  of you coming to watch, you get a great view of us climbing Whernside from the Station Inn Pub ( our start and finish point )...so sit down, chill awhile, enjoy a pint while the rest of us gasp our way to the summit!

Ingleborough is the second highest of the three peaks at an elevation of 723m ( 2372ft ). It is connected to it's nearest neighbour Whernside by a mountain pass at Ribblehead at 296m.

All 3 peaks are spectacular in their own way and it is going to be a tough but very rewarding day on June 2nd as we do our bit for cancer charities. I thank each and every one of you who have registered to join me on this scenic walk!

I hope you will be staying over for a post peak pint with me....camping is free and it would be great to celebrate our wonderful day together in the Station Inn at Ribblehead Viaduct!

Here's hoping your training is going well

Until next time

Tracy

Confirmed walkers for the 3 peak sponsored challenge!

Hello everyone

I can happily tell you we have 23 confirmed and fully paid up walkers for our first annual sponsored Yorkshire 3 Peak challenge and another two almost definite's! Thank you all for taking on this world famous,tough challenge in the beautiful and picturesque Yorkshire Dales. We have walkers coming from near and far to take part in something they strongly believe in. Most of us have a common goal, to show support to a loved one, to help raise money to help research a cure, to eradicate cancer for future generations.

If you think of the marvelous breakthrough's I blogged about last week, it shows that collectively we can help the researchers  reach the result that we all strive for. By getting together and joining events, we don't only raise more money, we help raise awareness, the more we do, the less scared people will become of the word cancer - it doesn't automatically mean the death sentence it did.....look at the fantastic Olivia Newton John celebrating her 20th year as a survivor....congratulations Olivia, and wishing you many more!

Well there are a couple of events happening before the 3 Peak challenge! Sat May 19th, we are hosting a  Curry and Cocktail event at my home, it will start at 14.00pm until late! A choice of 3 homemade curries, one of course will be vegetarian, choice of a couple of starters and fresh homemade chapati's all for £5.00 - what a bargain!!.....The cocktail bar will unfortunately for you not be run by Tom Cruise, but by yours truly, there will be a choice of cocktails and back by popular demand will be the Frazzleberry amongst others :)

The following Sat - May 26th we will be holding a charity car wash at The Sun Inn at Cottingley again.....the weather has got to be warmer than the one we held in February lol!

So as you can see, there will be three events over a three week period! So thank you to all volunteers and helpers.....and of course those who accepted the challenge of walking the 3 peaks in the name of cancer.

So now I need the weather to improve so I can finish getting the garden ready for the Curry and Cocktail day!

Until next time

Tracy

6 weeks today for 3 peak - reconnected with friends from yesteryear.

Hello everyone

Wow - it is in a fast approaching six weeks today that we will be doing our first annual Yorkshire 3 peak challenge. I am very giddy about it, but a bit nervous right now to be really honest. I have lost so much training  time due to not being able to train in the gym....my daily success was getting out of bed and getting dressed by myself some days.

I've got back into the gym ,and over the next weeks will do everything in my power to get myself as fit as possible for Saturday June 2nd. I look forward to having a post peak pint with those of you who are staying overnight in Ribblehead with us. I will probably need all of you to get me stood on my feet and help me over the  car next morning :) .

Time is running out for those of you who are still thinking about it, so if you do want to join me on a tough but very beautiful walk in the Yorkshire Dales....get yourselves registered her on the blog.

It's been a very positive week this week for cancer research, treatments and feelgood stories. As I posted, great breakthrough's for men's prostrate cancer and a brilliant new way of treating prostrate cancer, with an almost perfect result for most, and very little side effects that hopefully will be used throughout the NHS within 5 years. As for breast cancer - a breakthrough genetically - by highlighting at least 10 subgroups, this not only opens up new avenues for further research, but will also help in designing a treatment package for the individual based on the type of cancer. These two massive breakthrough keep moving in the right direction to hopefully cancer eradication in the future. And the Olivia Newton John is in the UK looking fabulous, healthy and active and a great positive for breast cancer sufferers - she is a 20 year survivor. A thing to be celebrated by all cancer sufferers. Congratulations to you Liv!

I have had a bizarre but wonderful week myself - I have been reconnected to quite a few of my old classmates from middle school ( 9-13yrs )...it's been like a whirlwind but utterly fabulous! Some of these friends I had lost contact with, were friends from first starting school. I have laughed a lot laughed at our old class photograph....we should have all been arrested by the fashion police. What were those fashions all about! So my  old school chums - Maggie, Coleen,Wendy Tony and Barrie, it's been great to see you all grown up, most of you with families of your own....wow that in itself is strange to see.....my head and my heart see two different things lol!....my head fully understands we are older now, but my heart when I think of you all, and I look at the class photo transports me back to being a kid again! I'm glad this opportunity came along....it's made me smile very much....so thank you all for not pretending I didn't exist lol!

Maggie and I were laughing about how do you try and condense 30 yrs of your life into a couple of paragraphs - it's crazy - it feels that if you don't, you may lose contact again and never have caught up in the first place. I loved every bit of this week, every tiny little bit of it....thank you friends of class 4 1979!!

Until next time

Tracy

Big breakthrough's in cancer diagnosis and treatment!

Hello everyone

What great news we have heard this week for both the most common men's and women's cancers!

Lets start with the fantastic news about the most common cancer for men - Prostate cancer. A pioneering treatment for prostate cancer rids 9 out of 10 sufferers of the disease without the debilitating side effects - This was announced this week by researchers at the University College London after doing an intensive study.

They have found a "perfect"outcome for most prostrate cancer sufferers by using an intensive ultrasound. The treatment can be completed in one hospital visit and patients can walk out of the hospital a few hours later. The ultrasound's ability to destroy the tumour while avoiding the side effects is said to be twice as effective as conventional methods.

The treatment is to go forward for approval as safe and effective next week by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. They will want more trials done, before it is approved for use by the NHS, but it is thought it will be routinely used within five years. Fantastic news and a major breakthrough in the treatment of Prostrate cancer.

Today it has been announced that researchers have made a discovery which could change the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated, breast cancer can be classified into at least 10 subgroups by identifying new genes.

These finding could dramatically change the way treatments are currently tailored for each woman, and in the future could help the doctors determine which treatments will be the most effective for that individual.

Dr Julia Wilson, Head of Research at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, says: "This incredibly exciting research which has the potential to change the face of breast cancer, from how we diagnose and treat it, from how we diagnose and treat it, to how we follow it up afterwards. In essence the entire patient journey could change".

This research is unlikely to benefit women currently suffering with breast cancer, but does give a really positive outlook for the future. The potential for this research is a springboard for scientists to explore new avenues in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer for future generations.

So all in all, great news on both fronts. This is why fundraising and cancer awareness are so very important. Without the many who donate, sponsor, organise and participate, a lot of this research wouldn't be taking place. We all know government funding isn't enough and sadly we the masses have to take over the role as the main provider.

I want to know that I have personally done everything I could towards raising funds to help with not only research to eradicate cancer for future generations, but to raise funds to help those sufferers while having their treatments and for after the invasive treatments are completed....for the up in the air..." 0-5 years all clear". To raise awareness, help break down the taboo of cancer and help fellow sufferers and their loved ones come to terms with the disease, and where possible show with positivity and great humour, you can carry on and lead a full and active life.

These announcements today show that everyone who's ever been involved in any sponsored or charity work have been rewarded - the step to cancer's eradication moved a little bit closer.

For everyone who has supported myself and my War on Cancer, I thank you...your support of my cause and dreams means the world to me....it's your support that drives me to carry on pushing myself to my utmost limits in the name of cancer awareness.

Until next time

Tracy

A great start to the week!

Hello everyone

I hope this short blog finds you all well.

I was in the gym yesterday and I had a great workout, because we have now less than seven weeks until the 3 Peak challenge, and I have over 6 months of catching up to do, I am going to try and hit the gym everyday. I am feeling much better in myself and even though I know the 3 peaks are going to be a tough challenge for myself, I am confident I will manage to complete it! I hope those of you tackling this event with me are getting some good training sessions in :) I'm going today as soon as I've posted up the blog.

This will be a good indicator for how much more work I'll need to do to make sure I'm in a fit enough position to complete my Mt.Kilimanjaro challenge later this year. I am determined to complete my personal set challenge this year so it is to schedule, but will make my final decision later. I won't go if I think I will fail - failing is not an option for me. Some of my family think I should delay because of the rough time I've had in the last year due to the medications. I don't want to do that if I can help it.

I'm already looking further forward to what challenge I will set myself for 2013. I have decided after the 3 peak challenge to further look into what requirements I need to make War on Cancer a registered charity. I plan to carry on with this and because I plan to raise over £5000.00 per year - it must be registered. So I need to get on with that, I will after this year be concentrating on using the money raised to benefit research, hospices and HODU units in the Yorkshire area only. As the adverts keep telling us, Yorkshire has the worst survival rates for cancer in the country......so any money we raise will be put to good use.

I believe that War on Cancer can help make a difference to peoples lives, believe it or not speaking out loud about cancer, it's treatments and how you can live positively while surviving it already makes a difference to other people's lives.....they see what you can do, how you can challenge yourselves, how it helps family and loved ones come to terms that you have a life threatening illness, because they struggle as much if not more than the cancer sufferer in some cases as they struggle to accept they cannot make it all better.

As a lass surviving cancer, I can tell you I am very lucky, things are going ok, and there are many other cancer sufferers who don't just have the cancer to contend with, they may have many other illnesses going on as well. I know when I was having my chemo, it was a great feeling knowing by talking and dealing with my own condition with great humour it would lift others in the HODU up, they would start conversing and generally end up having a laugh with me. I would rib the nurses endlessly and I have to say, that even going through the chemo - I looked forward to seeing the medical staff and other patients when I went in for my treatments....even then I always tackled the cancer discussions head on. I found it more beneficial to all involved to break down the taboo straight away. I remember my dad after he had been diagnosed and had his surgery....he couldn't say the word cancer for over 18 months. It's this fear we have to break down and get rid of, get cancer out there and speak openly about it....my aim is through this blog to show we don't need to let it control our lives - and that we need to live our lives regardless of the cancer as much as possible.

Remember all of us have the ability to challenge ourselves to our own personal limits - whether it be mentally, emotionally or physically, we can do it - set yourselves a little target and work towards it. Living positively gives you great rewards on a daily basis - me?.....I live my life with no regrets.....I hope you all can do that too!

Until next time

Tracy

Wow seven weeks - who's up for a 12 hour hike?!!

Hello everyone :)

Can you believe it is a mere seven weeks until we crazy few do War on Cancer's first annual Yorkshire 3 peak sponsored challenge! - the great thing is we haven't even done this years and I am already getting queries about next year! thank you you eager people lol.

Please if you are still in talks with friends/family/colleagues about doing it this year, you need to make up your minds - time is rapidly running out, I would love for you to register and come join me.....this is a fantastic event to push yourselves on a tough endurance walk in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, while raising money and awareness for cancer charities.

I hope all who have registered are cracking on with their training ( don't all show me up too much!). I am getting so giddy for it, even though I have such a lot of catching up to do in the fitness/ stamina stakes.....somehow, I will finish ( no way am I not getting my certificate hee hee ).

For those of you who have registered, I thank you very much! - the Yorkshire 3 peaks was actually the first challenge I thought about setting myself while having chemo, I decided to do the London Moonwalk instead. I knew at some point I would have a go though :)

If you cannot do the walk, but want to sponsor or donate, you can by clicking the donate button on here, it links straight through to Paypal - a very safe and secure way of sending money online. Anything you can do to support is most gratefully received.

I have been off my cancer drug for about 3 weeks now, I can feel improvements to my health and body almost on a daily basis - each day that goes by validates that I have indeed made the right decision for me. It was a very difficult decision to make and not one that was made rashly. I have already has significant improvements in a lot of my joints, the muscle and bone pains are lessening and I have got back into the gym! - my biggest challenge right now is to not get over zealous and hit the gym too hard and knock myself back. I am feeling very optimistic that over the next twelve months I can get back the old me. This fills me with a serenity I have not really had in the last couple of years.

I told my doctor this week that I have come off the cancer drug ( wasn't sure what his reaction would be as I've been lectured about thinking about it in the past year). He was actually fine and agreed that quality of life is very important. He asked if I'd told my doctors at the hospital - I told him not yet, but I plan to tell them in May when I go for my six monthly consultation and mammogram. He said they will probably throw lots of statistics at me ( pity they didn't when I was asking for that information so I could make an informed decision as to whether to come off the drug or try and struggle through the next few years still on it ),I said it won't make me change my mind, not now I've seen and felt such an improvement in myself. Afterall I've seen the Rheumatologist and had it confirmed my problems were definitely medication based.

My doctor made a very clear view of life has a cancer surviver. He said I would fall into one of two groups - the first group will never get another tumour no matter whether they did or didn't have follow up drugs after the invasive treatments have finished, and the second group will get a re-occurrance or new primary no matter what follow up treatments they had - as to which group I fall into - no-one knows. I for one want to lead a positive, humour filled life being as active as I can while carrying on trying to break down the taboo barrier associated with cancer while raising awareness and money to do my bit to help eradicate cancer for future generations - and of course pushing myself to my limits in my personal challenges.

I have had my first physio session Friday gone on my back, she is confident they can get me some good improvements. I am really happy about that as I wasn't sure if it was the Osteoporosis that was causing me such discomfort in my lower back - happy it's not that and hopefully I will get enough flexibility back to be able to get out on my bike. All in all a fantastic positive week for me from the medical professions, my first in a very long time.

Please seriously think about the 3 peak challenge - if you don't think you can make it - remember if I can do it, you can too! come help make a difference :)

Until next time

Tracy