Brave mum inspires Race for Life runners

Mum-of-two Maxine Turley, 48, from Poulton, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare type of cancer in 1984 when she was aged 12.

She said: “I think it’s fair to say that no one’s plans for 2020 have worked out as they thought they would.

“It upset me to hear that vital cancer research has been delayed this year.

“Now as lockdown eases, I hope people will want to put something back.

“I want to reach out to people going through cancer right now, to show that while we may all still be apart, we can unite with a common goal to fund life-saving research.”

The Blackpool Race for Life was among 400 events which organisers Cancer Research UK were forced to cancel this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

But supporters can instead take part in their own 5k in their nearest green space – either alone or in small, socially distanced groups – on Saturday, September 26.

Maxine, who is married to Martin and has two children, Marcel and Florentine, is a regular at Race for Life and was VIP guest at the Blackpool event in 2017.

She was just 12 when she went through radiotherapy and 18 months of intense chemotherapy after a lump on her left eyelid was found to be cancerous.

She made a good recovery and remained healthy throughout her teens and 20s, but in her 30s began to experience pain in her left eye.

Doctors were forced to remove her left eye in 2011 and fit a prosthetic eye – a difficult procedure because the socket had been damaged by the radiotherapy.

Since then brave Maxine has undergone operation after operation to rebuild her eyelid to try and keep the false eye in position.

She was due to have further surgery in March of this year to reconstruct her eyelid, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Maxine added: “At one point doctors told my parents I had a 30 per cent chance of surviving, but here I am. I’m one of the lucky ones and proof that there is hope and there is a future.”

Cancer Research UK North West spokesman, Jane Bullock, said: “Cancer is still happening right now and we won’t let 2020 stop us.

“Whether people are taking part in Race for Life in their local park or even in their back garden, they’ll be united by a determination to beat cancer together.”

For more details, visit www.raceforlife.org