"Life became difficult but we enjoyed many happy years"

James Poulton's Mum was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2009. He shares how fundraising through #TeamBev and a Tribute Fund helped him and his family to keep their memories alive.

"Our nightmare began in 2009 when my Mum was first diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer which was first put down to the menopause. We all found it very difficult to understand Mum being unwell in our young years (4, 11 and 14 years old respectively). Life became difficult but we enjoyed many happy years and made so many happy memories as a family until Mum passed away in 2018.

It has been a very hard year as you can imagine, but with the support of Ovarian Cancer Action we decided to start #TeamBev. A team of 26 ran our first event in April 2019, the Invncbl 10k – a very muddy assault course! We raised £4,145.26 for this amazing charity and we have many more events lined up, our next being in March 2020.

When Mum passed away we decided to set up a Tribute Fund through OCA where people can visit to remember her. People post memories they have, photos and donate. This page has brought us comfort in looking back on happy times when it gets a little bit rough.

If you have lost a loved one to ovarian cancer I would recommend setting up a page. We raise money for our #TeamBev events on our Tribute Fund page, it’s a great way to keep the memory of your lost ones alive.

The money everyone raises for this charity is truly amazing and the research they are doing is phenomenal – I know this because we were invited to the research centre in Hammersmith. I urge everyone to learn the symptoms of ovarian cancer and to understand that you may be entitled to genetic screening. Early diagnosis is key.

If you would like to hear more about setting up a Much Loved page, please contact the fundraising team via Fundraising@ovarian.org.uk.