Key 103's Mike Toolan joins celebrities for Stand Up To Cancer's Great Canoe Challenge

Key 103's very own Mike Toolan has joined celebrities such as Made In Chelsea's Sam Thompson and Emmerdale's Hayley Tamaddon in Stand Up To Cancer's Great Canoe Challenge.

The challenge saw the breakfast show presenter join the 'Paddlers' who have all be affected by cancer, row five marathons in five days. Starting in Chester the challenge finishes in Liverpool at the Albert Docks on the 29th September.

One of the Paddlers, Carla Bradbury, has survived cervical cancer and said, “Preparing to take on the challenge made me think about when I was going through treatment. I was so weak, I couldn’t exercise, I couldn’t even stand up in the shower.

"Reflecting back made me realise how far I’ve come. I couldn’t feel more ready to take on the Great Canoe Challenge. I’m determined to raise as much money as possible so we can fund Stand Up To Cancer’s amazing research. Because research will save lives.

“The challenge comes at a nerve-racking but exciting time for me. My five year appointment with my oncologist is on the Monday after and I’m hoping to get the all clear. All being well, I am planning on getting a tattoo to mark the moment and celebrate that I have beaten the disease."

Mike, along with Sam Thompson, Hayley Tamaddon, Niomi Smart, Nikki Tapper, Michelle Heaton joined the Paddlers on their third day of the challenge.

Speaking about her involvement in the Stand Up To Cancer's Great Canoe Challenge Michelle Heaton said,

“Taking part in the Great Canoe Challenge was a no-brainer for me. When I discovered I was a carrier of a faulty version of the BRCA2 gene, it was devastating. I felt like my world had been turned upside down.

I want to do everything I can to help to raise money for research because I know it’s the key to defeating this disease. Meeting all the paddlers who’ve experienced cancer first-hand is going to be my motivation. It’s a tough challenge but I’m really looking forward to sharing stories, having some fun along the way and being involved in something I feel so deeply passionate about."

Some of the other celebrities who took part include Hollyoaks actress Anna Passey (Sienna Blake), Judge Rinder star Robert Rinder, and TV presenter Anthea Turner.

Stand Up To Cancer is a joint ­­national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4. Launched in the UK in 2012, Stand Up To Cancer funds game-changing research that accelerates new cancer treatments and test to UK patients to save more lives, faster. More than £38 million has been raised in the UK to date and over 40 trials and projects have been funded, that will involve more than 10,000 cancer patients.

For more information and to support the Paddlers you can donate online. You can also donate £5 or £10 by texting CANOE5 or CANOE10 to 70404.*

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