Double dash for brave Yvonne; CHARITY: Cancer survivor to run marathon-and-a-half.Byline: Christina Savvas A CANCER survivor from Birmingham who has become a regular face of national television and poster campaigns is taking part in the city's halfmarathon tomorrow before jetting off to the Big Apple to go the extra mile. Yvonne Brown Yvonne R. Brown is the current (as of 2007) mayor of Tchula, Mississippi. An African-American, she was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress in Mississippi's 2nd congressional district (map), unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Democrat Bennie Thompson in the 2006 , a theatre practitioner 'Theatre practitioner' is a modern term to describe someone who both creates theatre performance and who produces a theoretical discourse that informs their practical work. at Selly Oak Selly Oak is an area in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Selly Oak is a parliamentary constituency; its member of Parliament is Dr Lynne Jones. Hospital, overcame breast cancer after major surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The 50-year old mum of three, who currently features on Cancer Research television adverts, has taken part in numerous fundraising events including a cycle trip around India but now she is set for a gruelling month with tomorrow's run followed by the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Marathon on November 1. She said: "I did the Birmingham Half last year and it was an amazing experience. I felt so emotional, seeing the sea of people and it felt wonderful to be a part of it. Then I thought New York is even bigger with thousands more people and I want to experience that. "I know how many thousands of pounds my treatment cost and I want to give something back. "I am so excited. It's going to be an experience of a lifetime - I have never been to New York before and I intend to make the most of it. Life is for living." Yvonne from Kings Heath, who has two daughters, Lorna, 17, and 12-year-old Jenni and a son Robert, 31, from a previous relationship, was diagnosed in February 2003. She said: "I was skiing with my family in France when my youngest daughter lost control and completely wiped me out. "I thought I'd broken my nose. That night, when I was doing a self-examination, I found a lump. I didn't think too much about it and was more concerned about my nose but when I got home, I mentioned it to my GP. Within a week, I had a mammogram mammogram /mam·mo·gram/ (mam´o-gram) a radiograph of the breast. mam·mo·gram n. An x-ray image of the breast produced by mammography. and biopsy and found out it was breast cancer. I had three lumpectomies and 21 lymph nodes removed. I had chemo che·mo n. Chemotherapy or a chemotherapeutic treatment. for six months followed by three months of radiotherapy. "Through the experience, I met so many lovely people, some who didn't make it and I wanted to do something to put back into the system." It has been an extremely difficult five years for Yvonne's family. As well as coping with cancer, her former partner and father of her daughters died five years ago from a ruptured stomach ulcer; in March this year, Yvonne's father Asa passed away. She said: "My daughters are very strong and resilient. It makes you realise how precious time is." n Yvonne is aiming to raise at least pounds 1,500 by completing the marathon in New York. To sponsor her, visit www.runningsponsorme. org/yvonnebrown5 Road closures will be put into naction across the route of the half marathon and anyone who has queries about the traffic arrangements can telephone the hotline on 0121 464 6002 from 10am to 2pm today. OUR SAY: PAGE 30 CAPTION(S): Publicity: Yvonne in the Go: Cancer sufferer Yvonne is doing the New York Marathon. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion