Cancer survivor in 100-mile hike to thank charity

Cancer survivor in 100-mile hike to thank charity

30 September 2020

A DOWNPATRICK woman has completed a 100-mile solo walk to raise much-needed funds for a leading Northern Ireland cancer charity.

Susan Morgan (50), who is a lecturer at the Ulster University, recently completed the walk in Scotland, raising £5,000 for Cancer Focus NI.

The local woman had already raised £3,000 for the charity before she headed across the Irish Sea to walk along the West Highland Way.

Susan is also backing the charity’s Support Your Girls campaign to highlight the signs and symptoms of the disease and how to check yourself and is also encouraging people to hold a girls’ – or boys’ – night in to raise money for a new support service for younger women with breast cancer. 

Susan had planned to visit New Orleans to celebrate her 50th birthday but the coronavirus pandemic put paid to that. 

Undeterred and given that walking was her favourite form of exercise, she wanted to do something to prove that she was fit and healthy again.

Diagnosed a year ago with two tumours in her left breast, Susan had a mastectomy and her lymph nodes removed before six rounds of chemotherapy in December and 15 rounds of radiotherapy. She is now on hormone therapy.

“The walk itself along the West Highland Way was really tough going and took me six days,” she said. “My company often was only the sound of my own feet on the gravel paths or splashing through the rain soaked moors.

“It was exhilarating getting to the end of the journey. The last time I felt a high like that was on completion of the cancer treatment.”

Susan said that getting breast cancer had been a massive shock for her “as it is for every woman”.

She continued: “The walk helped me to achieve what I wanted. I feel happy and healthy and ready to continue my life. 

“It’s hard to express how thankful I am for the support, love and encouragement I have received along the way. My cancer diagnosis and treatment really enabled me to experience the very best side of humanity.”

Susan has used the Cancer Focus NI art journaling service before Covid-19 hit and continued with her new skills during lockdown. 

“It was a brilliant way of zoning out, escaping for a while, and it was a way of relaxing from all the tension,” she said. Susan also used the charity’s specialist bra-fitting service after having a mastectomy,” she said.

She added: “I am very pleased that the funds raised though my walk will be able to support Cancer Focus NI in their future endeavours to help others like me at their greatest time of need.”

The charity’s community fundraising manager, Rosie Forsythe, says Cancer Focus NI cannot thank Susan and her supporters enough.

“Susan is an amazing woman with so much energy which she has used to achieve wonderful things for people who need help at a tough time in their lives. Everyone is so generous and we couldn’t do our invaluable work in the community without you.”

Anyone interested in having a girls’ or boys’ night in to help raise funds for local breast cancer support is asked to visit https://bit.ly/2EZMgUG.