Ruth's walking in the moonlight

A teacher battling leukaemia has pledged to '˜give something back' by raising vital funds for a cancer charity.
Challenge: Ruth Beaman will take part in the London Moonwalk.Challenge: Ruth Beaman will take part in the London Moonwalk.
Challenge: Ruth Beaman will take part in the London Moonwalk.

Ruth Beaman, from Byram, was diagnosed with blood and bone cancer in February 2016 and has handled six rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, and a stint in intensive care.

And now she will take on the London Moonwalk challenge – a 26.2 mile overnight walk in which participants wear elaborately decorated bras to raise awareness and cash for breast cancer charities.

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Ruth, 43, said: “One of my friends said ‘let’s do it’ and I said ‘why not?’. Everyone knows someone with breast cancer, you rarely meet a family where someone hasn’t been affected by it.”

“I may be completely bonkers and mad doing this walk overnight, but I’m not afraid of a challenge and all I want is to give something back whilst I can.

“I want to use my illness as an excuse to do something I wouldn’t have normally done. I want to almost embrace it and take something positive out of a bad situation.

“I have limited energy and it can be hard to do some things and rather than feel sorry for myself I want to face it head on and do something that most people would find hard.”

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The geography teacher hit the headlines in 2017 when she finally married partner Peter Hodgson after her treatment meant the wedding had to be postponed.

She also backed a campaign by blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan that urged health commissioners to ensure transplant recipients could access support after leaving hospital.

Walk the Walk is the largest grant making breast cancer charity in the UK. It raises cash that it then distributed to other breast cancer organisations.

To donate visit moonwalklondon2018.everydayhero.com/uk/ruth-10.

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