A woman from Cheshire is preparing to cross the finish line her mother never could after she succumbed to a rare cancer.
Natalie Anderton and her mother, Debbie Marr, used to love running and spoke about how they’d like to complete the Great North Run together. Tragically, Debbie died from a rare sarcoma cancer in 2020. Natalie and her husband, Nick, from Sale in Cheshire, are running two marathons in Debbie’s memory to raise funds for the cancer charity Sarcoma UK. Nat will participate in the Great North Run on Sunday, 8 September, and Nick will run in the New York Marathon on 3 November.
Debbie started experiencing leg pains in 2018. At first, she put this down to general wear and tear, but then a lump developed in the upper part of her right leg. Doctors told her that she had a blood clot or a running injury, but the tumour kept growing. It was only until a year later, in June 2019, that Debbie had her tumour removed, and a biopsy then diagnosed that she had pleomorphic sarcoma. Sadly, the sarcoma then reoccurred in her leg and spread to her lungs and brain, and Debbie was told her illness was terminal. She was in such pain that she had her leg amputated in May 2020 but died two months later, aged 60.
Now Natalie and Nick – both aged 42 and who have three children aged seven, four and three – are fundraising for Sarcoma UK by running the marathons.
Natalie said: ‘Mum was a keen runner, and we always spoke about running the Great North Run together, but sadly, we never managed to fulfil that dream. It’s often very difficult to look back and think of all the things mum went through in quite a short space of time. She even had her leg amputated so that she could try and stay with us for as long as she could – she was incredible! When she was diagnosed, we didn’t know what sarcoma was. It’s so important that more people know about this disease and the signs to look out for.’
Dr Sorrel Bickley, Director of Research at Sarcoma UK, said: ‘We’re investing nearly a quarter of a million pounds into cutting-edge research aimed at finding new treatments for pleomorphic sarcoma, one of the most aggressive and challenging types of cancer. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like Natalie and Nick, we’re able to fund groundbreaking projects by Professor Valerie Brunton at the University of Edinburgh and Professor Pascal Meier at the Institute of Cancer Research.
‘Professor Brunton’s team is working to identify existing anti-cancer drugs that could be repurposed to treat pleomorphic sarcoma, using advanced models that closely mimic the behaviour of this cancer in people. Meanwhile, Professor Meier’s team is pioneering a new approach that programmes the immune system to recognise and attack sarcoma cells as if they were a virus. By triggering a type of cell death that actively engages the immune system, this research could revolutionise how we treat sarcomas that have become resistant to conventional therapies like chemotherapy.
‘These two projects represent significant steps forward in understanding pleomorphic sarcoma and bring us closer to developing new treatments. This research simply wouldn’t be possible without the crucial fundraising efforts of people like Natalie and Nick. Every pound raised brings us closer to improving survival rates and quality of life for those affected by this devastating disease.’
To donate to Natalie’s run, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/page/natalie-anderton-1722326858926
To donate to Nick’s run, go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/nickanderton-nycmarathon2024
