A WOMAN is set to pound the pavement in a bid to raise awareness of the effects of ovarian cancer after her mother was diagnosed.

Katrina Rimington, from Andover, will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon on October 13 in aid of Ovarian Cancer.

The 30-year-old witnessed first-hand the detrimental effects that ovarian cancer had on her mum, Madeleine Wickett, who was diagnosed in May last year.

Madeleine works in a doctor’s surgery, where a colleague said that they had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

This triggered her to acknowledge that she had similar symptoms and went to the doctors.

Katrina said: “The doctor wanted to be thorough and ticked the CA125 blood test request (an ovarian tumour marker blood test). It came back positive, the doctor asked my mum if she understood what this meant, she replied yes.”

She added: “Last year was the hottest summer since the 1970s and my mum didn’t drink enough fluids, and wasn’t mobile due to the swelling in her stomach, created by the cancer producing a lot of fluid build-up. She was just well enough to have her first chemotherapy session. However, she reacted very badly and even collapsed in the chemo chair.”

The doctors explained to Katrina and Madeleine that it was the “perfect storm” for the chemo session, as her condition and the weather exhausted her.

“This caused Mum’s kidneys and liver to stop working and she was hospitalised in the acute medical unit for two weeks. Throughout this time, we were told to say our goodbyes.”

This will be Katrina’s first half marathon and she aims to raise £500 and is hopeful that Madeleine will have the strength to attend on the day.

You can support Katrina’s cause at bit.ly/3204LP6

The Royal Parks Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, October 13. For more information go to royalparkshalf.com