"I just thought of my Mum and all those other women fighting ovarian cancer." - Jack

11 year old Jack Carson ran 43 miles during February half term for Ovarian Cancer Action because he wanted to “support women and girls, like my Mum.” He tells us his story.

When I was nine years old my Mum got diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had to have a full hysterectomy and then a few weeks later she started chemotherapy treatment. The treatment made her lose all her hair, she lost a lot of weight and was often very tired. She used to go out for a lot of runs and was very sporty so it was odd to see her like this. Mum came into school and gave a talk in chapel about how scary cancer can be, but she made me realise that you can be positive however difficult things might get. Once she had recovered from her operation she started going out for short runs again and tried to keep herself as strong as she could. Mum is now back at work, running lots and doing really well. 

Over half term, and just after my 11th birthday, I ran 43 miles. This is the distance from our home to the hospital where Mum had her operation, and back. It was really hard, but it's just running and I haven't had to go through as much as other people. On the days I didn't want to do it, I just thought of my Mum and all those other women and girls who are fighting ovarian cancer.

Helen is Jack’s mum. She says: “We’re so proud of Jack, he has taken on this challenge that he set himself with loads of determination. There was one day we could see he was feeling flat as he was tying up his laces ready to head out. He admitted he didn’t want to go that day, but said that he was thinking about the days I didn’t really fancy going to chemo, and off we went. Other than that, he has run with a spring in his step, completely buoyed by the kindness of friends and strangers. He has learnt a lot about himself on this challenge, and has proved what a resilient chap he is.”

“The thing about this disease is that you invariably don’t know you have it until it’s quite far down the line. We have the smear test to check for cervical cancer but that doesn’t pick up ovarian problems. Research is the key to helping improve how the disease is diagnosed and treated, and we hope that one day scientists will come up with ways of spotting it earlier in its tracks. We’ve been blown away by all the support we’ve received and we will continue to find ways of supporting the charity and raising awareness. In the meantime we will be celebrating what Jack has achieved this half term. We are all incredibly proud of him.”

Feeling inspired? You can still donate to Jack’s JustGiving page here, or find out how you could help fund ovarian cancer research here.