Charlotte Drakeford

Why I’m fundraising...

On the first day of the summer holidays 2023 we lost our lovely mum after her 6 year battle with ovarian cancer. The way she tackled her diagnosis and treatment made me so unbelievably proud. I feel so privileged to be able to turn my grief into something positive and make her proud. I am running the London Marathon for Mum and all women out there.

Ovarian cancer is a cruel disease. 7.5k women receive a diagnosis each year but 1 in every 7 will die within 2 months of receiving their diagnosis.

I want to help women catch it sooner by broadcasting the symptoms so they have more time with their loved ones. Raising money is critical as it will help fund awareness, research into treatment and support women suffering now.

We all have women who are special to us. It might be a mum, sister, aunty, daughter, friend or even a close colleague. If you have heard her say on a couple of occasions that she feels bloated, her appetite is not what it was or she’s going to the toilet more often, then these might be symptoms of ovarian cancer. If you were aware of these symptoms then you might encourage her to visit her GP and support her in this process. In doing so, she might have more treatment options and more time with you because they caught the ovarian cancer at an earlier stage. 

These are symptoms that most women would brush under the carpet as “what happens as you get older” or “probably peri/menopause”.

If I can help just one person have more time with their loved ones by catching this terrible disease earlier I will have succeeded.

Your donation would mean the world to me and TARGET, it really would, and it would be very special to me if you kept your ear to the ground for those special ladies in your life; don’t let them fob off the symptoms, please. Xx