CoppaFeel breast cancer charity fundraising in Tockwith and Wakefield ahead of treks in Brecon Beacons and Himalayas

Donna and Jonjo Sanderson are hosting a fundraising event at Wetherby Racecourse, where Jonjo is chief executive, on Tuesday, June 11, to help reach the milestone target.

Almost £87,000 has been raised by 45-year-old Donna, who was diagnosed with grade three, invasive, lobular breast cancer in 2021. Fortunately, following treatment, Donna is now “on the road to recovery”.

Donna said: “Two years ago we hosted our first ever CoppaFeel! charity race night at Wetherby Racecourse on Ladies’ night and, thanks to the huge generosity of everyone there, we smashed the target that Jonjo and I had set towards our 100km trek across the Sahara Desert with Coppafeel!, which was no mean feat, but raised essential money for the charity.

“Then only last month we took part in the CoppaFeel! Alumni Yorkshire Dales Trek and walked the distance of a half marathon in one day, to raise more funds. Later this year, myself and four of my fabulously supportive friends from Tockwith, Angie Cliffe, Toria Megginson, Lyndsay Roberts and Nicola Webb, now known as the ‘Knockers from Tockers’, are putting ourselves forward for a gruelling challenge.”

They will be taking part in CoppaFeel’s latest fundraising trek across the Himalayas, led by TV presenter and actress Giovanna Fletcher, who is patron of the charity.

Donna said: “What’s given me the determination to keep fundraising is the number of young women I have met through Coppafeel! who have detected cancer early because of the profile the charity has given to the issue, which ultimately has saved lives. The charity advocates for young women and men in their 20s, 30s and also reaches out to school age girls and boys to tackle the subject of checking your chests in a light hearted and educational way. I’ve been proud to talk in local schools alongside ‘boobettes’ from the charity, about the signs they should be checking for.”

Meanwhile, Wakefield mother Joanne Cave will be taking on 100km of the Brecon Beacons in Wales on June 8 to raise funds for CoppaFeel!

The charity’s message is very important to the 41-year-old after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 aged 36.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d have breast cancer. I was very blasé about it,” says Joanne, who works for Wakefield Council. "I had a bit of a lump and just left it for six weeks.”

But it was husband, Alex, who said the lump was getting bigger, leading to Joanne to contact her GP. “I was referred and seen within two weeks. Then in August 2018 the results came back – I had Grade 3 breast cancer.”

Joanne had a full mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

“They took away part of the lymph nodes to check if it had spread...it had, which meant more surgery. Just over a couple of months, the lump and cancer had grown so fast.”

Chemotherapy followed, which Joanne says was “the worst thing ever” and radiotherapy. “I was fit and young. I didn’t feel ill, but I had this aggressive cancer in my body.

“I lost my hair and my eyebrows, which affected my children, Zach, now 14, and Nieve, now nine, who were young.

“Then I had an anaphylactic shock reaction to one of the drugs and, cruelly, had a forced medical menopause.”

But always positive, Joanne, who has raised more than £4,700 so far, said: “They can take anything, any body part, away from me. What matters is you’re here for your children.”

Now, she hopes that by telling her story and joining the CoppaFeel! trek, others will be pushed to check themselves and see a GP if there are any concerns.

The CoppaFeel! charity was founded by the late Kris Hallenga, who died earlier this month, aged 38. Kris was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 23 and lived with the illness for 15 years, campaigning for breast cancer awareness in that time after founding CoppaFeel! with her twin sister Maren.

To see Joanne’s and Donna’s fundraising pages, search their names on the JustGiving website.