Chichester woman marks ten years cancer free with marathon effort on hottest day of the year

Charlotte Wakeford was only 21 when she was diagnosed with a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, which affects the cells that cover and protect the nerves which send messages from our brain to our body.

"At the time it was life changing for me as I was so young and was only thinking of the immediate future,” she said. “After undergoing an MRI scan I had a biopsy at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) which helped to diagnose the tumour so I was able to access the right course of treatment for me. I had a six week course of radiotherapy at my local hospital before having surgery at the RNOH.”

Now 30, Charlotte ran the Richmond Marathon on one of the hottest days of the year (September 10) to celebrate ten years without cancer and than the organisation which helped her through such a dark time.

“RNOH has continued to offer me advice and support yearly for the last 10 years, so the marathon was my way to say thank you and also celebrate this wonderful milestone for myself. Initially I set myself a target of £500 but I am so please to say that I have more than doubled that now and have raised £1,197 so far.”

The RNOH charity supports the work of the hospital itself, treating patients of all ages suffering from conditions musculoskeletal condition such as spinal cord injuries, bone cancer, scoliosis, and acute hip and knee problems.

Earlier this year, the charity launched a campaign ‘impossible, possible’ to raised awareness about the life-changing work of the RNO and fundraise for clinical research. The money raised by people like Charlotte will go towards state-of-the-art imaging equipment, rejuvenating the spinal cord centre’s day room to improve patient experience, and further develop pioneering research and ground-breaking developments.

Vicky Brady, community fundraising manager of the RNOH Charity added: “This is such a fantastic effort from Charlotte, especially in the heat, so she should be so proud. It’s thanks to people like her that we can continue our work supporting RNOH to make the ‘impossible, possible’.”