Rob Coan: "Even in lockdown, it's something we can do together to celebrate this remarkable woman."
22 May 2020
Rob Coan, and his sons Oliver and Toby, take part in Walk In Her Name each year. It has provided an opportunity to join with friends and family to comfort each other and celebrate the life of Aleasha, a much-missed wife and mum.
“The walk we like to do is along the picturesque Wivenhoe Trail in Colchester. It is a location that is special to us as Aleasha loved to walk there with our dog and really felt at peace.
I did the walk with my sons this year but we weren’t able to get together as a big group of friends and family, as we normally do. Instead we got everyone to do it remotely near to their own homes and send pictures in which I then put together and posted on Facebook. It worked really well and was a good way of people still being involved and feeling connected.
"As a family we know how devastating it can be and how difficult it is to recognise the symptoms, especially in young women."
Rob Coan
Everyone who took part, wherever they were, made a £5 donation to our tribute fund in memory of Aleasha and in aid of her chosen charity Ovarian Cancer Action.
We hope that the event and money donated will help raise awareness and fund the ground breaking research that the charity does to help further prevention, treatment and cure for this horrible disease.
As a family we know how devastating it can be and how difficult it is to recognise the symptoms, especially in young women.
Aleasha had a very rare Granulosa Cell Tumour diagnosed only after she had elected to have a hysterectomy at the age of 32. No one knew it was there before, despite her having hospital tests done and suffering from various problems. Awareness and early diagnosis are keys to tackling this disease.
Participating in this event is an opportunity for us to get some positives out of the tragedy of Aleasha’s death. Though the tumour was not the cause of death, it was the catalyst to it. Even in lockdown, it's something we can do together to both comfort each other and celebrate this remarkable woman and know that every penny raised goes to a fantastic charity.”
Could you take on the Walk In Her Step Challenge for Ovarian Cancer Action? 295,000 steps in March for every woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer globally each year. Sign up and help us fund research to make ovarian cancer a survivable disease. Find out more.
