Double cancer blow spurs on marathon efforts

Crossing the finishing line in just under six hours and raising £2,000 for charity was a poignant moment for first-time London Marathon runner Diane Collett.

After losing her mother to cancer just two months previously and supporting her sister through her own brave battle with the disease, 2014 has been a tough year for the 48-year-old business director.

And while Diane is first to admit that finishing in 5 hours 55 minutes breaks no world records, she is determined to secure a place next year to raise even more cash for charities close to her heart.

“I had run a few half marathons and toyed with doing the London Marathon for a while,” said Diane, a director at Exeter-based IT and communications firm, IP Office Ltd.

“When I registered for the race last April with various cancer charities, my mother had already battled cancer twice and been given the all clear.”

But by mid-July the cancer was back. A month later the family suffered a second devastating blow as Diane’s sister Karen, who lives in Australia, was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.

“On the very day Karen was undergoing a mastectomy on the other side of the world, mum had a follow up appointment. It was then we were hit with the news there was nothing more that could be done. She was given nine to 12 months.”

“I felt my world had caved in,” said Diane, of Higher Metcombe, Ottery St Mary. “I just thought I can’t lose my mum and my sister together. It was really hard.”

In October, Diane discovered she had secured a place in the 2014 London Marathon with Children with Cancer UK, and so began her training regime. But in November she was in Australia with her sister undergoing chemotherapy prior to her radiotherapy, before returning to support her parents.

“By January I was running 16 miles but my mother had taken a turn for the worst and was bedridden”, she said. Diane was going in to work every day to the IT and communications business she runs with her husband Mark, then leaving early to give her dad respite.

“It was at that time I had newfound admiration for my dad. He was just awesome caring for my mother on a daily basis,” she said.

On Valentine’s Day this year, Diane received the call she had been dreading. Her mother lost her battle with lung and bowel cancer.

But this week, the family had some good news after hearing that sister Karen has was in remission. Diane added: “We fully appreciate the potential of it returning, as it did with mum, however today is awesome news for us.

“I’ve applied for next year’s marathon and yes, they are all with cancer-related charities – Children with Cancer, Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Research.

“This year was never about recording a good time, life got in the way, but if next year I can do it in 4 hours 55mins I would be happy. And of course, raise money for these wonderful charities who do so much to support and help the likes of my mother and sister.”

Diane is now preparing to hand over the £2,120.15 she raised in this year’s marathon effort to support the work of Children with Cancer UK. However, there is still time to donate at www.justgiving.com/diane-collett