Wigan cancer survivor planning 40-mile bike ride to raise money for charity

A Wigan mum-of-two says she is “fit and healthy” and “living life to the full” after a gruelling cancer ordeal.
Emily and her husband AndrewEmily and her husband Andrew
Emily and her husband Andrew

Emily Makin was just 27 when she received the bombshell news in July 2018 that she had triple negative breast cancer.

Recently married in March that year and with children, Emily and her young family had been dealt a terrible hand.

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She opted for a single mastectomy straight away as her tumour was already 4.5cm.

This was swiftly followed by four months of punishing chemotherapy and 15 sessions of radiotherapy which she finished in March last year.

She has since been given the all-clear, and now aged 29, is loving life and planning a 40-mile bike ride to celebrate and raise money for charity.

Emily, who lives in Pemberton with 36-year-old husband Andrew, and their two children, Harrison, four, and Freddie, two, said: “The diagnosis was a real shock at the time as you don’t expect that at 27, so it was a difficult time.

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“But I was determined to battle through it for myself and my young family and now I’ve come out of it the other side and I’m fit and healthy and living life to the full.

“Life throws different things at you, some that are positive and others that are more negatives but you’ve got to take both to succeed.

“I now spend as much time with the kids and my husband as possible and make sure that I live every moment to the fullest.

“I think what I’ve been through has certainly made me appreciate the value of life more.”

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The bike ride will be run on August 1 from The Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool to The Comedy Store in Manchester.

Emily said: “The reason for this is we’d like to go from a stand-up comedy club to a stand-up comedy club for Stand Up To Cancer.

“Since my treatment ended I’ve had a new lease of life to fund-raise anyway possible and I like to give myself a challenge.

“And this is a huge challenge for me. I haven’t ridden a bike for around 15 years!

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“But after losing a total of 12st between my husband and me, with the aid of Lose Weight Feel Great and Slimming World, we want to push our boundaries and get ‘back on the bike’ but this time for charity.”

The couple’s weight loss efforts have seen Emily lose 7.5st and Andrew 4.5st.

Emily said: “We want to raise awareness and raise funds for research.

“Our aim is also to make sure that people know it can affect anyone of any age.

People don’t expect women or men in their late teens and 20s to be diagnosed with cancer which isn’t true and we want to change that perception.”

Visit their fund-raising page to donate money at here

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