Plymouth man raises over £16,000 to thank the ward who cared for his late fiancé
Liam Brett and his two friends ran 70 miles from Carlisle Castle to Newcastle
A Plymouth man has taken on a 70 mile run in memory of his late fiancé who died of breast cancer five years ago.
Liam Brett and his friends, Ryan and Adam Frame, took on the challenge from Carlisle Castle to Newcastle.
They raised a total of £16,503 for Plymouth Hospitals Charity which will be donated to the Brent Ward, an Oncology Ward at Derriford Hospital.
Liam wanted to thank them for caring for his late partner, Tash, who he said spent 'months at a time' being treated there:
"We’d been trying for a child and eventually we struck gold and got our little boy. Then when he was about six months old, she found a lump and got it diagnosed as breast cancer."
After chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a vasectomy, Tash felt a twinge in her back and discovered that the cancer had metastasized and she sadly passed away twelve months later.
Liam said: "I wanted to do something challenging for the ward that would test me physically and mentally. I’d always had my eye on this event and when I told my friends I’d be doing it they refused to let me do it by myself and signed up for it with me."
The trio also completed the Man vs Coast Challenge just two weeks afterwards. They were all facing injuries and due to the uncertainty of COVID, they only found out that the events were going ahead seven weeks before.
Despite this, they were able to successfully complete them, with Liam thanking his family, friends, colleagues, physio and strangers for the support - adding that he has been 'blown away' by their generosity.
Liam gave particular thanks to his wife Becky for looking after their three children whilst he was out of the house for hours training and for encouraging him when he was suffering from injuries.
Becky's partner also sadly passed away from cancer and she and Liam were introduced to each other around three years ago by a mutual friend.
He said: "When I couldn’t run for a couple of months, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make the event. So I was probably pretty miserable around the house and Becky always lifted my spirits and ensured me that I’d get there and we’d get it done."
Liam’s hoping that the money raised will help others who are going through a similar situation: "That sort of money for the ward could just make things so much more comfortable for family trying to stay up there if they’ve got relatives on the ward. It should really help the staff there and people going through that awful experience."
Some common signs of breast cancer include a lump or swelling, changes in the skin or shape, change in texture and a change in colour.
According to Breast Cancer Now one woman is diagnosed every 10 minutes in the UK and in England 46,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.