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Leanne and her mother, Christine, were on holiday in 2009, when Christine mentioned pain in her arm. She thought nothing of it, but it turned out Christine had advanced lung cancer, and she sadly passed away just seven months later. It knocked Leanne for six, but Macmillan Cancer Support helped her understand her Mum’s illness and cope with it. Leanne has recently completed a tough 16-mile Miles for Macmillan walk in memory of her Mum.
'Everything happened so quickly. It was as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and knocked Mum over. She wasn’t even a smoker, and until the holiday she felt fine and lived a normal life. Then, all of a sudden, she was having intense radiotherapy – she liked to call it "zapping". She was always cheerful and strong through it all, and she’d say, “more zapping today" when I spoke to her on the phone.'
'But it got really hard for Mum and everyone in the family towards the end, and I turned to Macmillan for support. These really difficult times seemed to come out of nowhere, and I was trying to make sense of it all, but didn’t really know much about cancer. Macmillan were amazing, though. They helped me get my head round it all, understand and come to terms with what was going on.'
'In hindsight I should have picked up the phone sooner, but I can’t change that. It’s just great to know that they’re there for people like me who struggle with what’s happening to their loved ones.'
'I recently did a really hard 16-mile sponsored walk from Loughborough to Nottingham. Partly to show my support for Macmillan, but really I did it for Mum. I carried a huge poster of her with me all the way, and she was my inspiration and motivation throughout.'
Find the perfect walk for you and get signed up today.
Email walking@macmillan.org.uk| Call 0300 1000 200 Fax 0800 007 3526 Write to Walking, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7UQ