Helping other women who aren't so lucky
💜 The start of 2025 was busy; February and March had brought a welcome influx of work, I was running regularly, had even achieved an all-time 5K PB at parkrun, and I was trying to find a sensible way forward for my elderly parents, who were beginning to need more structured care. In short, like many midlife women, I had plenty to juggle and I didn't give it a great deal of thought when my IBS, which I had been suffering from for a number of years, flared up in the early spring.
💜 After a couple of weeks, I began to realise that I felt more bloated than usual. To cut a long story short, I ended up at the GP out-of-hours clinic at my local hospital on a Sunday afternoon before being referred to A&E. I felt well generally; I wasn't experiencing any real tiredness, pain or nausea, just discomfort and bloating. Later that night, I was given a CT scan and subsequently discovered that my right ovary was the size of a rugby ball and I would need surgery to remove it. What I had thought was IBS turned out to be early-stage ovarian cancer. Two weeks after that, I was told I would need a full abdominal hysterectomy, including the removal of my appendix for good measure. It was a lot to take in!! I had the surgery in late May and, thankfully, it went very smoothly. A month later, post-operative tests revealed that the enlarged ovary had been caused by a borderline tumour – all the abnormal cells had been contained within the ovary itself and hadn't spread to any of the surrounding organs, categorising it as stage 1A. Three months after that night in A&E, after what felt like a nightmarish whirlwind, I was officially cancer-free and told the chance of recurrence was less than 10%. I will be having regular check-ups over the next five years to promptly detect anything suspicious.
💜 Six weeks after my surgery last summer, following the green light from my surgeon, I (very!) tentatively attempted five minutes of gentle jogging/walking intervals. When I got home, I checked my email to find I'd won a ballot place in this year's London Landmarks Half Marathon. The universe was clearly trying to tell me something! On 12 April, I will be running 13.1 miles through London in support of Target Ovarian Cancer. I have run a couple of half marathons before, so I know (hopefully) what I'm letting myself in for, but as my body adjusts to surgical menopause, this time around the training has been an entirely different matter.
💜 Around 4,000 women in the UK lose their lives to ovarian cancer every year. Because the symptoms of the disease can be easily overlooked or confused with other issues, many women are not diagnosed until an advanced stage. Raising awareness of symptoms among women and healthcare professionals is a key part of the work done by Target Ovarian Cancer to help improve early detection rates. Put simply, if diagnosed at the earliest stage, nine out of ten women will survive.
💜 Any donations you make will help the charity ensure other women like me get lucky with early detection. Having said that, please don't feel any pressure to donate, comment, share or even react if that doesn't feel comfortable – just pay attention to your health, or that of the women in your lives, familiarise yourself with the symptoms and don't dismiss any concerns.
Thank you to my Sponsors
£72.52
Simon Wells
£50
Anonymous
Good luck. Amazing achievement and recovery.
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Caroline Bennett
Best of luck, you're an inspiration!
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Cara Graham
Good luck Laura, such a great cause x
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Darren Kelf
Well done, you were amazing x
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David Alun Jones
Good luck Laura!
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April Harris
Well done Laura!
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Simona Pearson
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Carmelina Wellington
Good luck Laura. Sending you support and love Carmelina, Daimon and family xx
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Anna Wright
£10
Rachel Calaminus
£200
Roy And Patsy
Proud parents
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Rosanna
£20
Charlotte Vivian
Good luck Laura!!
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Nicola Brooks
Go for it Laura - you have been through so much, you are so brave!
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Katie Turner
HUGE Congratulations on all you have achieved & overcome Laura x
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Laura Templeman
Go on, from one Laura to another!
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Daniel Williams
Good luck, Laura!
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Jane Gilmour
Amazing Laura, you’ll smash it! Jane x
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Nelia Fahloun
Good luck on your half-marathon, this is such an important cause to support.
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Sarah Bowyer
I'm so sorry you've had such a tough time, Laura. You're doing a wonderful thing by raising awareness (and hopefully lots of money too). Good luck!
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Hilary Cadman
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Carl & Anna
You are amazing!!!!!!
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Roxanne
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Susan Glenn
That’s amazing Laura. Best of luck - you’ll smash it!
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Tom Jennings
Best of luck with the race for a great cause!
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Heather Stacey
Sending power to your feet for this impressive challenge!
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Donna Reardon
Enjoy your run and remember pain is temporary , pride is forever . Martin and Donna . Xx
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Stacie Allan
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Tom Williams
Go Laura!
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Rachel Slade
Well done Laura ❤️, great work raising awareness too for ovarian cancer love Rae xx
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Anna Moorby
Good luck Laura. Sending you so much support and lots of love
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Penelope Keen
Proud of you lots of love your future mum in law from Hell 😂😂
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Beth Fowler
Good luck Laura!
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Helen Wright
Well done
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Kirsten Bennett
Go to it, cousin! Will be willing you all the way through to completion.
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Anna Taylor
Great effort Laura - you’ve got this ! . Enjoy all the training and don’t forget to take in the Landmarks on the day !! Love from all the Taylors x
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Fiona And Tom Brown
Go girl....all the very best on the the day! Very happy to sponsor your run....for a great cause.
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Sharon Gradwell
Good Luck and enjoy yourself xx
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Tanya Hales
Good luck Laura, you are amazing xx
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Crystelle Mills-smith
Good luck Laura!
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Alexander Bottom
Thanks for doing all this running business so I don’t have to.
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Scorch Xxxx
You're my superhero! I'm expecting you to smash it with style and grace 😀 Love Troll xxx
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Kirsty Olivant
Best of luck, Laura. You'll smash it!
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Ailsa Brookes
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Sara Archer
Good Luck Laura 😊
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Tom & Emma
Good luck in London.....you got this!! Xx
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Louise Normandiere
Wishing you all the luck in the world Laura! It's amazing to see you doing this and thank you for making it a fundraiser :)
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Sorcha Thomson
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Caz In Cornwall
You will do Great. Enjoy it
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Fuschia Hutton
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Tor Williams
You’re amazing Laura! Good luck for the run - you’ll smash it! Xx🥰
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Roger Elliott
Best of luck on the day Laura. Uncle Roger and Hilary xx
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Donna Reardon
Run with pride and joy Laura , with love from Sheila M .
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Rebecca & Nigel
Good luck!
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Keirsten Anderson
Good luck, I’m sure you will be amazing
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Alison Clifford-king
Very impressive Laura- good luck and enjoy. Al and Martin
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Sarah Bawa Mason
Go you! Here's to your growing strength and rapid recovery.
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Sue And Rodger
Hi Laura. You totally have this. Much love from Sue and Rodger xx
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Jan Marks
Laura, your motto should be “I get knocked but I get up again, you’re never going to keep me down”. You have dealt with so much in the last year and I salute your resolve to dig deep and carry on. All the very best on the day, you will be amazing. Love Jan and Gary xx
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Una & Paul Jenkins
Good luck
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Philip Willcox
All the best to you Laura for a great run for a great cause. Best wishes Phil Willcox
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Paul Appleyard
Glad you got it sorted, and I'm sure your time will be a London Landmarks record.
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Jenny
Such an achievement getting to the start line. Enjoy the run!
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Steve Metcalf
Enjoy the race and well done on raising much needed funds for charity. Truly inspirational!
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Teresa Pender
Just amazing! Good luck 😊
Top effort Laura, all the best for the day, enjoy it.