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




 

Moving WoC forward positively and the upcoming event

Hello everyone

It's been a while since I last updated, and here's a vision that makes us think of balmy sunny days...but because it's the UK, the truth is we are stuck in a wet miserable summer again. It seems the odd sunny day we get through summer are few and far between these days....so we must go make the most of them! This photo was taken at Lyme Park where I had taken a visiting Australian friend who was on the trail of everything Pride and Prejudice....a massive fan of Jane Austen's novel is our Merryn!, we were lucky, there was a thunderstorm we drove through on the way there, but the sun broke through to shine on us that particular afternoon!

The money from the 3 Peak challenge has not all been collected yet, but I will update the fundraising thermometer and write a blog about it when I have a final figure for you all.

On a really positive step forward for War on Cancer - by the end of next week, it will have it's own bank account as well as it's own Paypal account. It will be totally independent and this is a great step forward to realising my dream of registering WoC as a charity in it's own right. Some of you may thing this is taking forever, but I think it's important to pave the way slowly, to understand that War on Cancer is only just one year old, and it and I are still on a learning curve. I'd rather iron out the issues and events before submitting it for charity status. But watch out folks when I get to that point....I'll be plaguing everyone to death for corporate sponsorship, people to adopt us for a year, a patron, ambassadors.....you name it!! War on Cancer will be reaching for the sky to raise money and awareness to new dizzy heights.....to help support individuals and their families through the tough months of treatments and the uncertain years immediately afterwards.

My thoughts and prayers go to a family member who has just being diagnosed with cancer, I am here to try and help you in anyway you want or need, to listen to you, to try and explain some of the things likely to occur in the coming months, anything I can help with, I'm there for you. I send positive thoughts and massive hugs to you. Also to a dear friend who has just had the devastating news of secondary cancer from her original breast cancer - you can beat this my love, I know you can...you roughy, toughty Yorkshire lass!! positive hugs and love to you and I am here whenever and if ever you need me too . Love to you both, and please try to stay positive through the unknown and sometimes daunting times ahead...it truly helps xxx

Well we'll hope for better weather than we are having right now! - Saturday July 28th see's the annual garden party at my sister Caroline's AKA....The Pink Palace! the food theme this year is Tex Mex...and if you want to truly get into it, you could always dress up to match the food theme!!

We hope to see you there in great spirits looking forward to fun and laughter. Bring a beer or two with you, then later if you fancy...you can come visit me at the cocktail bar for a drink or two! Anyone with unwanted gifts they'd like to donate for the tombola will be gratefully accepted. I f you cannot drop them off, contact me or Caroline and we can arrange to come by and collect. Thank you for your continuing support of out tombola's!!.

I saw my bladder consultant last week, and he has decided to try sort out and relieve my issues through some surgery. It is a day surgery under general and will take place later this month. I really do hope this works as I have been having issues/infection symptoms for coming up two years this September. So to have some relief from it all will be bloody marvelous!!

So I am to have a rigid cystoscopy, bladder distension, biopsies and internal botox injections. I find it really strange that people have botox injections to firm up the wrinkles etc....yet used internally, it will relax the walls of the bladder!!. Here's hoping this does in fact give me some relief after all this time!!

So please remember to wear sunblock out where ever you go! and in the UK if we ever get a sunny day, please be sensible and use it. It only takes a few minutes to put it on, go on, don't be silly, protect yourselves from the sunrays!!

Until next time

Tracy

Looking towards the next event - July

Hello everyone

Before we look towards the next event, I have to say that I'm already getting feedback from some of our intrepid 3 Peak walkers saying that they are coming around to the idea of taking on the challenge next year! -  I knew if I left them for a little while they'd warm up to doing next years challenge! See you there then!

The next challenge is still an endurance event....but of a different kind ha ha! - Yes it's The Annual Garden Party at the Pink Palace ( Caroline's )and once again she is graciously holding it in aid of War on Cancer and the charities of choice for 2012. The food theme for this year is Tex Mex - chilli and beans abound....I'm sure it's going to be like a scene from Blazing Saddles towards the back end of the night!!...note to self - make sure you're upwind of everyone! If you want to really get into the swing of things....you can dress up to the theme too!

The Garden party is on Saturday July 28th and starts at 2pm. The cocktail bar will be back in attendance and we'll be having a tombola too. Anyone with any unwanted gifts they would like to donate for the tombola will be gratefully accepted. The party always goes down a storm and I know if you attend, it will be great fun as always.The cocktail will be offering a choice as always - although the Vespa Martini will not be on offer...it was too robust for most shall we say!

Myself and Caroline have volunteered to "take one for the team" again this year and go around to confirm the pubs who will be participating in our Fancy dress 3 legged pub crawl in Aug, we will suffer and have a drink in each as it would be rude not to . Details will follow in the coming weeks.

Until next time
Tracy

Still buzzing after the epic 3 Peak challenge

Hello everyone

Well here we are starting another week of summer - for those of us in the UK, the weather is not the best - but hey, we still don't let it stop us doing what we want to. Around the world...I hope you are all enjoying getting out and about whenever possible.

As you can see we didn't let the weather ruin our challenge day!...there was none of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales to be seen from any of the summits due to the mist, but as we dropped back down for a while it was good weather. I cannot express enough what a great company Lost Earth Adventures are! - they will accommodate you as much as possible and you are guaranteed the personal touch. The mountain leaders were fantastic, looked after everyone and joined in all the banter...a great day all round.

The feedback I got back from Sarah and Richard, the company founders was fantastic, here's what they wrote to me:  

"Thank you for such a great day on Saturday and for allowing us to be part of War on Cancer's 1st Annual Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge. Your friends and family were tons of fun and great companions on the mountainside. I was amazed at all the smiles on their faces, even as they faced mist, wind and many, many of miles under their boots. One thing that was also a constant on the hill was the shouts of encouragement and the reiteration that they were " doing this for Tracy!" It was truly inspiring."

It is a very humbling experience been told they did it for you, wow - words actually fail me, I cannot think of the words to express my gratitude to a fantastic group of people who came and supported War on Cancer on this difficult first challenge.

I will of course let everyone know who much was raised from the 3 Peak challenge as soon it has been collected.

Wow - I have loads of ideas for the 2013 challenge, I'm going to look into them all closely before announcing the challenge...it will be a bit tough and hopefully lots of fun too! keep looking out for it!

The next event ( not including a car wash ) will be the Annual Garden Party at Caroline's - this will take place on Saturday July 28th. This event will be foodwise a Tex Mex theme...of course if you want to dress up for a bit of fun...that would be great. I've decided not to shave, so will have a Mexican Gringo tashe for the day ;) Details of the event will follow shortly, and an invitation will be sent out from FB. Of course it goes without saying a cocktail bar will be run again...the cocktails are always a hit....however I'm withdrawing the Vespa Martini as it was too hardcore for everyone!

Talking of the garden party - any unwanted gifts will be welcome for the tombola, I can be contacted through here or PM myself or Caroline on FB. .....You know the drill!

I will start giving more details of future events soon - we are still thinking of doing a Phoenix Nights talent night later in the year....if you are interested, get in touch!

Until next time
Tracy

Decision made - Mt Kilimanjaro delayed until 2013

Hello everyone

Well here we are almost a week has passed since our very successful 2012 challenge was completed. Aching muscles are now becoming a distant memory and the personal understandings of what a great achievement has taken place is now sinking in with all the successful members of a truly magnificent team of willing walkers. I can't express enough times how very grateful I am to all who took on the challenge, for their teamwork, dedication and enthusiasm. It is all of you that made it the huge success it was. I especially love how so many have expressed a wish to be notified of next years challenge and your willingness to support War on Cancer, the cause and myself - I am indeed a very lucky lass.

I have gotten over the disappointment of my own 3 peaks challenge, and accept it was never going to happen with being poorly. I can very happily say that I with my cousins Andrea and Simon ( who are training for a Sept climb of Ben Nevis ) Sue and Jeannie are to have another climb of Whernside on June 16th and hope to see a big improvement of my own climb while not been poorly. This is great and I now push myself forward towards the day I take on all three! I always knew it was going to be a really big ask, what with only stopping the cancer prevention drug a matter of around 10 weeks ago and I have had very little time back in the gym after nothing for over 6 months. I am by far my own worst critic and I struggle not to be too harsh on my performances, but it is this drive that keeps me on track...I always calm down from my initial disappointment and become more circumspect after a few days. So with all that in mind, and the fact I was so ill...I am very pleased that I completed Whernside on challenge day.

What I loved is how the challenge got people out of the house training, the more the better I say...so with this in mind, the big yearly challenge will always be something physical. I want people to go exercise - walk, swim, go to the gym...I don't care which it is as long as people do it. I have said before and will always continue to do so . Exercising is a positive pro-active way to prevent certain cancers - to help prevent and/or improve Osteoporosis. Your body releases good chemicals into your body that improve your mood. You tone up your body, getting rid of dangerous fat and turn your muscles lean.....this makes you feel better as your body shape improves, your energy levels increase... you feel happier about yourself, so your self esteem and self confidence improve....need I go on?....I was hooked at ...exercise helps prevent certain cancers myself!... so please, get out and exercise....pro-actively help yourself and your body fight against illness and disease ...thank you.

I have loads of ideas for next years challenge and look forward to deciding which one in the next few months....after which I will announce it, leaving plenty of time for training etc. I'm also thinking of sorting out a "fun weekend" for those who want to do it....because despite how tough the 3 Peaks challenge was and how tired people were, they all had fun. So I'm thinking maybe a fun weekend will be great for our "team" of family and friends where we can have some gentle rivalry, tackle some fun activities and generally had a good laugh....we'll see how receptive everyone is to the idea when I've checked out the details.

Lost Earth Adventures is a fantastic adventure/ travel company and I highly recommend them if you are wanting to do something a bit different or travel off the beaten track while incorporating some adventure in to it. Seriously check out Richard & Sarah's company, you'll be amazed what they offer - and I guarantee you the personal touch. I and everyone who did the challenge had a great time and WoC will definitely be collaborating with LEA for many years to come!

The events coming up in the next few months are all fun chilled out events that need no training - well unless you feel the need to get in training for the 3 legged fancy dress pub crawl in August ha ha !

So I have been honest with myself and now acknowledge I will now way be ready to tackle Mt.Kilimanjaro this year - does this upset me? damn right it does, but I have to say I can't get myself fit enough after the last 6/12 months I had on the Letrozole to give myself a shot of achieving the climb. So with that in mind - I get back in the gym, keep working hard, go back and climb the 3 peaks individually with a plan to do all three has part of my training and look forward to the dry season in Tanzania of Jan - mid-Mar 2013....if this still as we get closer to it seems too early - I will move back to Sept 2013. I have given myself 12 months to get back my fitness, and I think it will be safe to say, at that point I'm going to probably be as good as it's going to get.

Until next time

Tracy

War on Cancer's first annual challenge completed!

Hello everyone!

I hope today's update finds you all well. What a fantastic if very tiring weekend we have had! There are more photo's in the gallery and more will be added over the week - so keep checking if you want to view our adventure.

Thank you to Richard, Sarah, Lizzie, Pete and Valerie from www.lostearthadventures.co.uk for leading us on this epic and very tough walk. You are a great group of mountain leaders who only added to the whole day of adventure, I and War on Cancer look forward to collaborating with you in the near future!, it's a massive thank you from the whole group who have taken you into their hearts, as have I.

Saturday just gone ( June 2nd ) saw a team of 23 people set off at 8.00am from the Station Inn at Ribblehead Viaduct ( some pictured above ) on a really tough and grueling walk around Yorkshire's 3 Peaks all in the name of charity. These friends and family took on Yorkshire's 3 highest peaks for War on Cancer's first annual sponsored challenge in aid of this years chosen charities - Walk the Walk breast cancer and Clic Sargent children's cancer charities. Thank you to those who traveled in some cases half the length of the country to come support the challenge.

For the majority of us who didn't stay over the night before, our day started early with a drive over to Ribblehead, most of these drives were an hour or two long. When we got to the pub and checked out the weather, there was low lying clouds and mist. We couldn't even see the top of Whernside which was the one closest to the viaduct. The local weather forecast expected the cloud to lift and the sun to burn through around 10.00am. Going into the pub I met up with Richard who runs Lost Earth Adventures and his team of mountain leaders for the day. A great bunch of guys and girls who were going to be out there making sure we were all safe and enjoying ourselves. He introduced me to Sarah ( his wife ) who was to be our support vehicle driver in case we needed it. The other members of Richard's team were Lizzie, Pete and a volunteer friend of theirs Valerie who is in training to become a mountain leader.

After our introductions it was time for breakfast ( all part of War on Cancers package ) so bacon, sausage and egg butties all round, and veggie sausages for our vegetarian team mate Bec! Cup of tea and coffee's consumed and the team were ready for the off!

We all set off towards Whernside first, the circular route for our climb today was Whernside, Ingleborough and then Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside is the highest of the 3 and has a winding climb up to the summit and a sharp steep decent, it took over two hours to reach the summit and it was a whiteout, the sun hadn't managed to break through. We had photo's taken then set off for a steep decent.

After this, was a long walk over to the second of the peaks Ingleborough...this had a very steep climb up to the summit that would take an hour to possibly two to climb and then onto the last Pen-Y-Ghent....this whole days walking was to take around 12 hours.

I very sadly was ill on the first of the peaks Whernside, I was very breathless on the ascent of Whernside - a problem that I'd noticed getting worse and more frequent in the gym, I'd mentioned to members of my family that I would mention it next time I'm at the doctors....well I think after my experience on Whernside that I need to make an appointment and get it checked out. I rightly or wrongly had not told anyone about some pains I'd been having in my kidney area, I thought it would be okay ( everytime I get this pain and get it checked out, it turns up nothing ) . I made to the summit with two of my cousins hanging back to walk with me - thank you Andrea and Susan :). It was not bad as we were only 5 minutes behind a couple of the team. We had a couple of photo's taken and were off on the decent. The decent very quickly becomes very steep. Just before this, I had to take some tramadol for the pains in my kidney area, this was really starting to bother me, I felt like my mid section was getting squeezed in a vice.

Then it all started going downhill very rapidly from here for me ( always the case ),I was sick...but didn't think I'd brought up the pain killer I'd literally taken 10 minutes before, my sister Caroline and brother Graham along with Richard from Lost Earth Adventures stayed close by and back with me. Then I was sick again, stood up and then was sick again...my sister and I both agreed the painkillers must have come up by now. We started down the really steep decent and not long after that, I came over really light-headed...I was swaying all over the place and managed to lean back and grab a rock...I called to my sister who was just a little in front of me that I was going...I steadied myself just and then sat down.My sister came back up to me and sat with me, Graham and Richard were a little further down but stopped and waited. I seemed to settle, had some more water and set off climbing back down. This happened a couple more times on the way down, we reached my brother who said to me, so you're going to stop after this" ? where of course my answer was no.

 I was light headed again on the way down and was sick that many times, I in all honesty couldn't tell you how many in total. We finally made it off the steep section and carried on on rough terrain making our way off Whernside. My brother quite rightly so, asked me again to stop my 3 peak challenge..... I was truthfully really struggling to walk, the pains around my kidney area were pretty intense, I was still light headed and still vomiting....he said to me, I know if this was life threatening you could do it, but it isn't and you are only going to make yourself worse if you try to carry on, my sister then said you've only been off the cancer med a short number of weeks and in the gym for a few weeks, this after a really tough year healthwise. So with a heavy heart I agreed to stop. I know I did one,and it was the right choice, but I'm still devastated about not been able to complete the challenge.

Sarah came with the support vehicle and my sister Caroline said she would stop and stay with me. I finally stopped been sick around 15.00pm. I started coming around then.

The team had split into two teams after I'd had to stop, a fast team and then a second team who were just behind them. I couldn't be more proud of everyone who take part if I'd given birth to them all myself!!! 19 member of the team of 23 completed all the 3 peaks....a massive well done to you all... They made it back to the Station Inn ( which I'm sure for them felt like they'd set off from it a million lifetimes ago ) to welcoming hot homemade vegetable soup and sandwiches....both of which were gorgeous. Some went to their rooms if they'd booked in to shower and change before eating, some ate and then set off driving back and some stayed in the pub to celebrate with a pint, and some live music!

The whole day went off without an itch and on behalf of myself, War on Cancer and Lost Earth Adventures, I gladly gave all participants a certificate to commemorate a fantastic day's climbing and great personal achievements. Every single person in that group, worked together, encouraged each other and made sure everyone was safe. It's down to you all that this first annual challenge was such a massive success and I thank each and every one of you for the part you all played.

Every member of our new friends from Lost Earth Adventures said they had had a great day with us even if the weather had not been in our favour. They told me they had not been out with a group of people who all pulled together and looked after each other. You all made a great impression...I told Richard that I wasn't surprised in the least as you are all fantastic people anyway.

I want to thank all of you for not only doing the challenge, but really embracing it and getting into the spirit in which I first thought of it....hard work but fun!.....you all made this first annual challenge, and I could not have wished for a better group of people to kick off the annual event!

Valerie the volunteer training mountain leader told me when you were all back safe that she had been overwhelmed by you all and the fact you all dug deep and pushed on to complete it for me....she said she was happy and proud she had been able to be part of a wonderful day where a team of people wanted to make sure my dream came true as I had sadly had to stop for my health.

I told her I hope she will be around next year when we do the next annual challenge - she said she would like that too. I thanked her for helping out and volunteering her day, and she said it had been her pleasure and she felt inspired by it all.

Richard, Sarah,Lizzie,Pete and Valerie - thank you so much for looking after everyone, encouraging and waiting when people needed to rest - you and Lost Earth Adventures made a lot of new friends on Saturday and I and War on Cancer look forward to many more collaborations with you all for years to come!

I myself was very overwhelmed by all the praise, been told I was an inspiration, that I'd inspired someone to carry on etc....and even though I believe it to be misplaced, I can't deny the warm feeling it has left me with. So I humbly thank you all for you very kind words and actions.

I look forward to announcing the War on Cancer challenge 2013 in the coming months...and if the response is anything like 2012's, then we are on a winner!

Until next time
Tracy

Only 2 days until the Yorkshire 3 peak challenge!

Hello everyone!

Well it is almost time for our Yorkshire 3 Peak sponsored challenge - how fast has this come round! So everyone taking part  ( 27 fantastic people in total ) check your rucksacks Friday to make sure you've got all your gear, don't forget to pack your lunch before you leave Sat am and most importantly make sure you've got your beer!!!

I will see you all at the Station Inn at Ribblehead Viaduct at 07.00am for our breakfast buttie and hot drink. On behalf of War on Cancer and everyone taking part I want to thank www.lostearthadventures.co.uk   for leading us on our 3 peak adventure, I look forward to trekking with you for years to come! A nice stretch to warm up the muscles and off!!!

 I know from conversations, everyone is getting their gear together ready for Saturday.I am so giddy for this, even though I know it's going to be very tough, and I've not had long to prepare for the event, but I am going to give it my very all to complete all 3 peaks. When we have successfully completed our trek, soup and a sarnie on our return to the Station Inn, then we can celebrate with a post peak pint!...then into the campsite for a few more beers, a laugh and a well deserved chillout!

I'm off to get the rest of the stuff I need, will pack ready for the 05.30am start on Saturday am, I think there is no mobile signal in the area, so you probably won't hear from any of us until the Sunday.

The next post I put up will be regaling you with stories of our adventure, and of course I will load up the photos onto the gallery!

I wish each and every walker all the best and good luck on this 3 Peak trek. And a very massive thank you for registering and supporting War on Cancer and it's cause.

And from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for supporting me, my idea and my dreams to reach out and raise money and awareness for cancer. Without all of you friends out there, this blog and my fundraising campaign would only be a pipedream...so thank you for making this girl very happy :)

Until next time

Tracy