Support Andrea Through Her Cancer Treatment

It's been a whirlwind week since Andrea received her breast cancer diagnosis. Andrea has a particularly aggressive type of cancer known as HER2+ and her treatment needs to match up to this. In 2 weeks, Andrea starts the first of 6 chemotherapy cycles. After this, she needs surgery to remove the tumour and her lymph nodes, followed by radiation therapy and a hormone treatment for 5+ years.

Andrea will be unable to work for between 6 months to 1 year because of the intensity of her cancer treatment. Unfortunately, financial support for people in her situation is extremely poor - something we were surprised to learn. The last thing anyone with a cancer diagnosis should need to think about is how to pay their rent, bills, and food during the long road of treatment ahead. Research by Macmillan finds that:

• 1 in 3 people with cancer experience a loss of income
• A further 1/3 need to stop work altogether
• On average, those affected lose £860 per month (and have additional costs such as travelling to appointments, help with household chores, increases in energy bills)

I am raising money for Andrea, my wonderful mum, to cover her basic living costs so that she can focus all her energy on surviving cancer.

Andrea is very well known in her local community in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. For the last 18 years she worked for Harpurs Hill Children & Family Centre providing low-cost childcare for families of all backgrounds. Recently, she started her dream job as a Family Support Worker within the same organisation, something she has to step back from during treatment. Everyone who knows her loves her. She is a source of positivity, joy, and she sacrifices a lot to look after her family. Now it is our turn.

How can you help?
We are running several challenges throughout August that you can take part in as an individual, a group, or both (see below for details on how to join in).

AUGUST CHALLENGES

Choose one (or more) from the following challenges:

Individual

Walk, run or hike 50km OR 100km in August
Walk 300,000+ steps in August
Cycle 300km in August OR 100km in one day
Swim 100 lengths of a pool 5x in August
Complete 100 squats OR burpees each day in August
Cycle 100km in one day.
Conquer the 7 hills of Edinburgh in a day
Complete 20+ workouts
Complete 20 hours of yoga/meditation

Group (choose your group size)

Climb 50 or 100 peaks in Scotland (collectively)
Cycle/Watt Bike 10,000km in 24 hours
Conquer the 7 hills of Edinburgh in a day
Relay marathon in a day with friends

!!! BONUS CHALLENGES !!!

20:1 Squat/Burpee Challenge: Start at 20 squats: 1 burpee and finish at 1 squat: 20 burpees (prize for the fastest time!)
5km, 10km, or half marathon charity run at the end of August (prize for the fastest time in each category!)

**Please note, you can only complete the bonus challenge if you sign up to at least one of the main challenges**

Got an idea of your own for a challenge? Let us know! Creativity encouraged!

How does it work?

Step 1: Make an initial donation of £20 to kickstart the fundraiser and be a part of the fundraising team
Step 2: Get in touch (contact button below) and provide me your email address so that I can add you to the GoFundMe Team page
Step 3: Pick one (or more!) challenges to complete in August and raise at least a further £125 through sponsorships!

I will arrange t-shirts and some goodies for anyone who joins a challenge. 

TIP: Record your challenges using Strava or a smart watch if you have one and post your progress here. Don't forget to share it via all your social channels too, and include the GoFundMe page link.

Can't take part in a challenge but still want to help?

You can simply make a donation of what you can afford directly via GoFundMe to support those taking part. Please also share the GoFundMe link as widely as you can. 

Please get in touch if you have any questions or want some more info/help getting involved.

Love to all,

Shannon (Andrea's daughter)

Note: We are grateful for any and all donations to help us reach the £5000 target. Any money raised that we don't need will be directed back to cancer charities.