Bury St Edmunds friends to walk in Himalayas for Cancer Research UK

Four women will climb in the Himalayas in their quest to beat cancer.

Sharon Ferguson-Cuffe, who lost husband Gary to oesophageal cancer 19 years ago when he was 35, will join friends Caroline McClellan, Jo McDonnell and Rebecca Hazell to walk in the Dharamshala mountains.

The Indian trek will raise money and awareness for Cancer Research UK.

Over five days in October, they will walk for more than 30 hours in altitude up to 3,000m, close to the Dalai Lama’s home. But according to Sharon, their biggest challenge is raising their £12,000 target.

"I am always saying never again" - Sharon Ferguson-Cuffe

“It is my third year fund-raising and I am always saying never again,” she said this week. “But we are also trying to inform people about different cancers. The type Gary had used to be rarer. At first he was finding it difficult to swallow, so we did not suspect it was cancer. By the time he was diagnosed it was too late.”

Sharon has completed charity runs and says the group walk together regularly.

The four, aged 41 to 60, have their own motivations but are committed to Cancer Research UK – which supports research and care.

Sharon and Gary’s daughters Ailsa Brown, 34, and Katie Ferguson-Cuffe, 23, have also raised money.

Katie’s only memory of him is an occasion when he walked her to school, which he may not have been around for had it not been for a charity’s care.

To help, you can attend a:

n Quiz night at Moreton Hall Community Centre. Saturday, February 23, from 7pm. Tickets are £6.

n Ceilidh at Moreton Hall Community Centre. Friday, March 15, from 7pm.

n Clairvoyant evening. June 14. Details to be confirmed.

To book or for information, email: sharoncuffe@live.co.uk

Or to donate, visit: justgiving.com/WI19