Salford nursing student to participate in 24k charity run after losing her father to cancer

Darcy Stewart, 20 is participating in the Pancreatic Cancer Challenge 24, where she will run 24k throughout the month of November.

The Salford Nursing student is running for the entire month in remembrance of her father, who died in 2014 from pancreatic cancer following a six-month battle.

Darcy explained: “I lost my dad to pancreatic cancer and it was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through.

“So I am taking part in this Challenge in memory of my dad, but also that more funding can go towards pancreatic cancer to help support early detections, so that hopefully more families don’t have to go through the pain me and my family went through.”

According to the website of Pancreatic Cancer UK, Challenge 24 was created to honour the 24 people who die each day in the UK from pancreatic cancer.

The challenge allows people to do anything they want from bake sales to walking 24k, Darcy decided to run for the challenge as she thought “that running for this challenge would just be a great way to participate in it.”

Darcy’s goal for her 24k challenge is £150, and she is already halfway there; however, she stated that if she exceeded her goal, she would be “made up” because of the number of lives that could be saved and the amount of support it could provide to families in the same situation as her and her family.

Survival rates for the vast majority of cancers have grown dramatically.

Pancreatic cancer, on the other hand, is an exception; now, more than half of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will die within three months.

It develops when the cells in the pancreas grow uncontrollably, resulting in the formation of a lump known as a tumour, lesion, or mass.

Symptoms do not usually appear in the early stages. As the cancer progresses, it may produce symptoms such as stomach or back pain, yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, unexplained weight loss, changes in your stool, and many others.

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month is observed every November. This is an opportunity to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and its risk factors, as well as to spur research toward a cure.

To make a donation, visit Darcy’s fundraiser.