In August, I'm trekking 60km across Iceland (the country, not the supermarket) to raise money for a small but perfectly formed charity named CoppaFeel! Despite the daunting prospect of sore knees, blisters, sleep deprivation from the four hours of nightly darkness and the small matter of raising £2,695, I'm up for the challenge. Here's why:
1. The story behind CoppaFeel! is inspiring
CoppaFeel! was set up by twin sisters Kris and Maren Hallenga. When Kris found out she had breast cancer at 23 years old, she also discovered the cancer had spread to other parts of her body and was incurable. Kris is now 30 years old and frequently refers to "living with cancer" - not dying from it. I can confirm this is 100% true - despite the fact the disease is all over her body and she spends much of her time in and out of hospitals, Kris Hallenga is without doubt the most alive person I know.
Aside from being a kick-ass CEO and lobbying the government on cancer education in schools with her #RethinkCancer campaign, she also throws festivals for charity, has a host of A-list celebrity backers (Dermot O'Leary, Fearne Cotton, Russell Howard, to name but a few), and somehow still finds time to make sexy bobble earrings for charity. She also just ran her first half-marathon, despite making no secret of the fact that she HATES running, so it goes without saying she's a bit of a ledge.
2. Vicky Pattison and Chloe Madeley are doing it
About those celebrity backers I mentioned... well, I was umming and ahhing over whether I could really raise almost £3,000 for charity, but when CoppaFeel! announced this lovely pair would be joining us on the trip, the deal was well and truly sealed.
I've never watched Geordie Shore (honest), but Vicky was an absolute legend on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! last year so I'll be damned if I'm going to pass up an opportunity to become her new BFF. (Yes, I'll do my best to get the goss on Spenny, and yes, I'll happily do my Geordie accent/Cheryl Cole impression in exchange for sponsorship).
3. Exercise makes me feel alive
Almost exactly three years ago, I finished chemotherapy and went back to work while I started radiotherapy. People in the office assumed I was cured and congratulated me on reaching "the final straight". But with cancer, there is no "final straight" - it's something that affects you for the rest of your life, and the fear of re-diagnosis never goes away.
People expected me to be fine, but in fact the End Of Treatment was the hardest part for me. There were no more doctors looking over me, no more weekly checks, and suddenly I was expected to return to life as 'normal'. But when I got home in the evening and took off my wig and drawn-on eyebrows, I looked more like a cancer patient than ever.
Around this time, I got a call from my old friend, Running. He placed my trainers on the ground in front of me and re-introduced me to his best mate, Endorphins. I put on some thermal tops, my chemo beanie and a woolly hat, and the three of us (Me, Running and Endorphins) headed out in -5ºC and pounded the pavements for a good 15 minutes. A few days later, we did it again, and suddenly I didn't feel quite so much like a cancer patient.
It's been three years now and that rush of endorphins has never lost its appeal, so I can't wait for the challenge of Iceland. The thing is, cancer is a marathon. You have to be positive to get through it. You'll probably start feeling a lot of pain around mile 20, but you know if you reach the finish line, you'll feel so elated, so full of joy and pride and sense of achievement, that it'll all be worth it. You'll feel more alive than ever before. And then you may be asked to run it again. But you'll do it, because you have to.
Quitting is not an option. So I guess I'll just keep running.
Even if I look like this...
4. I've never been to Iceland
Going through chemo in the summer of 2012, I spent much of my time scrolling through Instagram and Facebook, green-eyed with envy over pictures of my friends sipping fresh coconut water on beaches, exposing their tanned hot dog legs and eating the finest food. I wrote a list of all the places I would visit when the doctor okayed me to fly, and fortunately I've already ticked off quite a few, but there's so much of the world still to see.
Iceland is one of those magical places I've always hoped to visit, and what better way to see such a marvellous country than on a trek? I'll be sure to send you a postcard.
5. I don't want anyone to have to go through what Kris is going through
Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 29 years old, I was misdiagnosed a number of times. I found a lump and had it tested straight away, but I was told by several different doctors that because of my age it was unlikely to be cancer. It was only because of my family and friends' insistence that I went back and got that final test that diagnosed me, and fortunately I'm now almost four years in remission.
Some young women - like Kris - aren't so lucky, which is why she set up a charity aiming to stamp out diagnosis of secondary cancer due to late detection. CoppaFeel!'s small army of Boobettes - myself included - go to schools, unis and festivals around the UK to teach young men and women to get to know their bodies. It does what it says on the tin - if you regularly cop a feel, you'll recognise when something's different, and you'll get it checked out.
CoppaFeel! can't cure cancer, but they believe if young men and women are educated to get to know their bodies and recognise when something is wrong, they might be able to prevent anyone else being diagnosed at the terminal stage. They have already saved many lives in this way, and they need money to continue their life-saving work.
What are you waiting for? Go CoppaFeel!
Please sponsor me here: Pricey treks Iceland 2016