Cancer survivor Farida Anderson, 61, will be taking part in Manchester’s 10K Shine Night Walk after undergoing five years of treatment.
The grandma of eight, from Prestwich, was diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer in 2013 shortly after her 50th birthday.
Farida was invited for an early mammogram breast screening following the death of her own mum to secondary breast cancer, Miriam, in 1985.
She was then diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer – a cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.
Ten years on, the mum of three will mark the milestone by taking part in Cancer Research UK’s 10k Shine Night Walk which will return to Manchester on 13 October.
Farida, who has an MBE and an honorary doctorate from Salford University for charity work supporting families in need, said: “I’ve got two sisters and we were told after my mum died that we’d be at a higher risk of getting breast cancer ourselves.
“They had no genetic evidence then as it was nearly 40 years ago, but we were advised to get checked from an early age.
“I always had a feeling that if at least one of us got cancer, it would be me.”
After being diagnosed Farida started her treatment with a lumpectomy followed by four months of chemotherapy and then radiotherapy.
She was also treated at home for a further 18 months with Herceptin targeted therapy – a breast cancer drug that Cancer Research UK helped to develop.
Following her treatment, Farida, who also runs a Caribbean food company with her husband, set up a support group and gym programme in her local area called FACT – fitness after cancer treatment.
She said: “I’m so grateful to have more precious time with my loved ones. I owe everything to research into better treatments, so I hope that sharing my story will help inspire people to sign up for the Shine Night Walk.
“I’d love people from the black community to join me and we can dance our way around Manchester city centre.
“Just think of the money we can raise, there really is no better motivation than knowing you’re helping to save lives.”
The event starts at the Castlefield Bowl at 7pm, where participants will take to the city’s streets in a fun and inspirational parade of light that will help beat cancer.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jemma Humphreys said: “We want to thank Farida and people across Greater Manchester for making our life-saving advances possible.
“One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but all of us can support the research that will beat it. It’s thanks to the generosity of our supporters, that we’ve helped double cancer survival in the UK in the last 50 years.
Images: Supplied
