But for Maureen Charlton from Earls Barton that threat became all the more real when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer 14 years ago.

The news that she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a cancer affecting the lymphatic system – came as a bombshell to Maureen.

"I just said 'oh my God, is it terminal?' and they said the average number of years people have is seven.

"It presents itself as a swelling and this was a swelling in my neck, like when you have a sore throat.

I thought I had glandular fever."

But when a locum doctor sent Maureen for a biopsy, a very different result came back.

Two years later Maureen had the first of five sessions of chemotherapy treatment and over the years she has tried everything, including complementary methods such as faith healing, to try to keep the cancer at bay.

Last week 63-year-old Maureen was among the fund-raisers to attend the launch of Northamptonshire's second Relay for Life event at Roade School Sports College.

She will be among the cancer survivors to take a lap of honour as part of the 20-hour relay event at the school, which has been scheduled for July this year to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

More than a decade after her diagnosis, she now tries to live each day to the full and helps other people in similar situations by not only running her own support group for people with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, but also holding a course for people on the subject of living with cancer.

She said: "I now take vitamins and exercise quite a bit.

But, because my immune system has collapsed, if I get a cold then I can be ill for two weeks.

"When I got pneumonia I couldn't breathe because I couldn't fight any infection."

Yet, for Maureen, learning to cope with her illness has not just been about taking on the practical things to keep her body going, but has also been about adopting a way of thinking.

She said: "I was quite ill for quite a long while and radiotherapy knocked me for six. I did think life wasn't worth living."

But, as time moved on, Maureen changed her attitude and started seizing every opportunity in life.

The last few years have seen the daredevil mother-of-two take to the skies to do a skydive from 14,000 feet, take part in white-water rafting and abseil down a waterfall.

She said: "I just thought, life is too short, let's do something daring."

Ms Charlton now runs the Northants Lymphoma support group from Northampton General Hospital; a selection of people who meet quarterly to talk and lend advice and help to each other.

She also travels to Birmingham regularly to teach her 'Living with Cancer' course.

She said: "I have always had a very lively personality and tend to see the cupboard as half full rather than half empty, but I'm not always like this. Mainly – and I know this sounds preachy – I like doing good for others."

The Living with Cancer course talks to people about everything from exercises they can do, even if feeling unwell, to healthy living issues and will writing.

Maureen said: "We try to get them to do a target each week and sometimes it is just a case of people doing little things, as some people with cancer just sit there and wait to die.

"But they listen to me doing my crazy things and see that they don't have to just sit there. They can do things."

Maureen will be among the volunteers taking part in this year's Roade Relay for Life event.

She said: "My involvement is that I am ill and I have lost so many other friends because of this cancer."

To find out more about the lymphoma support group, ring Maureen on Northampton 810648.


Nightmare start ot Amelia's life
Seeing the smiling face of five-year-old Amelia Darts, it is difficult to imagine the amount of suffering she has undergone in her short life.

At only seven months old she started experiencing sickness and diarrhoea and a trip to the hospital revealed that she had a tumour "the size of a rugby ball" inside her.

Amelia – known to her family and friends as Moo – was diagnosed with kidney cancer; a condition which led her to have one and a half of her two kidneys completely removed.

But years later she is now in remission and her tale is a story of survival.

Her 37-year-old mother Vanessa Sutton-Darts, who is landlady of The Cock Inn at Roade, will be among the volunteers to take part in this year's Relay for Life at Roade School Sports College.

She said: "Most of my family have had cancer and it has been a poignant part of my life since I was young.

With my daughter they removed the left kidney and half the right kidney. The condition has left her with half a kidney and she takes drugs every day."

She continued: "If you knew her you wouldn't know she had been through this experience. She is absolutely amazing."

Vanessa remembers Moo's illness as a terrible time in her life: "It was absolutely horrendous, it was the worst experience of my life.

"You can't imagine what it is like, day in and day out, during chemotherapy, night after night, watching her filled with drugs and having operation after operation. Never ever would I want to go through that again.

"That is the pleasure now of doing the Relay for Life.

We have spent so much time fighting for her life and we have had a few scary moments with her, but this shows there can be a positive after cancer as well."

Moo now has to go for regular check-ups.

Vanessa said: "She does know she has had cancer and she does see the other children who have been left with spinal injuries."

Being told Moo was in remission was a strange experience for Vanessa.

"You doubt that she can ever be well again because you have nearly had her taken away from you, it is like a disbelief."

Vanessa, who is also mother to seven-year-old George, has now formed a Relay for Life team known as the Moo Walkers.

She will be joined in the team by some of her colleagues and customers at the pub.

She said: "If we could double the £3,700 we made last year it would be fantastic."

Charity event will run all through the night
There may be six months to go until Northamptonshire's second Relay for Life is held to raise cash for Cancer Research UK, but preparations are already well under way.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of Relay for Life, the event is a 20-hour fund-raiser and festival of hope and remembrance put together by a team of volunteers. It starts in the afternoon and runs throughout the night, highlighting the point that cancer never sleeps.

The relay is made up of different teams, each with the task of having to ensure one of their members is walking, skipping, crawling or even hopping around the sports track at any given time.

Each team pays a registration fee of £100 to take part; sums which are put towards the fund-raising total.

Last year the Roade Relay for Life raised £28,500 and this year organisers are aiming to beat that total, raising as much as £50,000.

This year's event will start at 2pm on July 19 and it is hoped that as many teams of 10 to 15 people as possible will sign up for the challenge.

In Northamptonshire volunteers are needed to organise and recruit teams, seek community support, find refreshments and prizes, plan entertainment and lend their support in any way they can.

Special guests who have already been lined up to appear include singer Kirsty Crawford and local athlete Derek Redmond.

Mary Moore, chairperson of the volunteer committee, said: "It doesn't matter who you speak to, cancer is such a big part of our life.

One in three of us will die of cancer and, speak to almost anyone, and they will either know someone or know of someone who has had it.

I think that is why people are so generous."

The aim of the event is to raise money as well as remembering those who have died of cancer and honouring those who have survived the disease.

The event not only features a survivors' lap of honour, but also a candle of hope ceremony.

This ceremony sees members of the public writing dedications on to bags.

These bags are then placed on to the track and candles are placed inside them to make them glow.

Mary said: "Relay for Life is a celebration as well as an informal day of remembrance. There's music, there's laughter, there's fun, but there is also poignancy and everyone who joins in takes away something special.

"We want to celebrate life and remember the loved ones who passed away.

There are many different strands to Relay for Life and anyone who can help with advice or support will be valued."

"While we're putting something back into cancer research and treatment, we're also helping to put something back into the community."

For a team information pack or general queries on entering a team please contact Mary by emailing roaderelay@yahoo.co.uk or by ringing 07919650141.

Alternatively Angela Harrold can also be emailed on
relay-teams@roadeschool.northants.sch.uk