'Why I'm trekking 100km through the Sahara desert in support of breast cancer charity CoppaFeel!'

Behind each step that Donna Sanderson will take in a 100km trek across the Sahara Desert is a resoluteness to help others.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer last year, the 43-year-old is determined to support people “to find breast cancer earlier so they can also go through the process with as few scars as possible”.

She and husband Jonjo Sanderson, who is chief executive of Wetherby Racecourse, will join celebrities including Giovanna Fletcher and Vicky Pattison for the trek in November, in aid of breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel!

“In some ways I was very fortunate that my breast cancer journey was relatively short and caught relatively early,” Donna says.

“Actually breast cancer is one of the most curable cancers because you can amputate the breast and take the cancer away.”

“I never really gave much thought to breast cancer as I’m relatively young, fit and healthy, but as I found out, none of that really matters.”

It was “pure luck”, Donna says, that she found a lump on her right breast. “It felt a bit like a frozen pea. It felt very foreign, I’d never felt it before.”

Donna, who lives in Tockwith, between Wetherby and York, turned to her GP, and was referred for scans at the Magnolia Centre at York Hospital.

“Then in May last year our lives were turned upside down when I was told I had grade 3, invasive, lobular breast cancer and the tumour was too large to remove without a full mastectomy.

“At that stage it was unknown if further treatment, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, were required until the surgery to remove and check my lymph nodes was concluded.

“Thankfully they weren’t, and the surgery had done the trick. Since then, I have spoken to and been made aware of five other women, all in their 40s with young families, going through their own breast cancer journeys.

“The lack of control and helplessness is overpowering. But this year I’m determined to take back control.”

Donna, who is a director at Littlefairs Property Company, sees the CoppaFeel! desert fundraising trek as a way of doing that and she and Jonjo hope to raise £20,000 to support the charity.

CoppaFeel! is the first breast cancer charity in the UK to solely create awareness among young people. It aims to give people the knowledge and tools they need to get to know their bodies so they can spot any changes to the breast area.

It also works to educate people on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer so that diagnosis happens at the earliest opportunity, meaning treatments are more effective. Its primary objective is for everyone to have the best possible chance of surviving breast cancer.

Whilst physically Donna is doing well, the mental impact of a cancer diagnosis still takes its toll, and, like many others, she had to undergo her mastectomy alone, as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.

“That’s hard that you can’t have somebody come and hold your hand,” she says.

“Mentally, things are hard,” she continues. “I read a brilliant quote the other day which is that a cancer diagnosis is like an earthquake, you have the initial earthquake and then you have the aftershocks.

“Obviously there’s been a lot in the news about Deborah James and things resonate a bit more when you’ve had a cancer diagnosis. I’m a bit more teary and everything that comes up cancer related, I just want to help.”

Children Orla, 14, Tom, 12 and Teddy, eight, have been helping Donna and Jonjo with their fundraising efforts. “When faced with adversity they were fantastic all three of them,” Donna says.

“When children get told their mum has cancer, it must be quite daunting because cancer to children often means the end. We tried to keep as positive as possible and they were absolutely brilliant and have been since.”

Donna came across CoppaFeel! last year, as she read as much information as she could about breast cancer. She knew she wanted to support the charity and she and Jonjo set their sights on the desert trek and have already raised more than £11,000.

The five-day route covers 100km, passing through Morocco’s forbidding landscape punctuated by peaks, gorges, dunes and oases. It will be mentally and physically exhausting but the couple are both grateful that Donna is alive to be able to take on the challenge.

“The people [doing it] are amazing, it’s quite mind blowing getting to meet such people, and seeing what the human mind and body can do with a bit of determination,” Donna says.

“I like being challenged and without being too melodramatic I am alive and I am well and I am fit and I can do it so mentally it’s a real focus point.”

"As a family, I feel like this raising funds for CoppaFeel! has been a really positive thing,” she adds. “It’s cathartic and it’s like giving a bit of validation for what was an awful year last year.”

To sponsor Donna and Jonjo, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/donna-jonjo-sanderson

On Tuesday, June 7, Donna and Jonjo are hosting a special charity evening of racing to help raise funds for CoppaFeel! at Wetherby Racecourse.

Donna says: “We are blown away with the support for the charity evening and hope that even more people will be able to come and enjoy a special evening of racing. We really hope to hit our £20,000 target.”

To book tickets, visit wetherbyracing.eticketme.com/sales For information on the signs of breast cancer, visit coppafeel.org