Worthing mum to join Giovanna Fletcher on 100km Brecon Beacons trek for CoppaFeel!

Inspired by her sister-in-law, Melanie Smith from Goring will be spending five days on the CoppaTrek! With Gi in June and hopes to raise £2,250.

She explained: "I know the importance of early detection and the impact that it can have on your prognosis. CoppaFeel! works to raise awareness in young people and encourage them to check regularly and accurately.

"I was inspired to do this by my sister-in-law, Clare, and her bravery and strength in the face of diagnosis in her 40s. My grandmother also had breast cancer and my mum was a breast care nurse specialist at Worthing Hospital for over 15 years, so it is a cause that is very close to my heart."

Melanie, who has a six-year-old daughter and seven-month-old son, is organising her own CoppaQuiz! to help boost the fundraising.

The charity quiz night will be held at St Mary's Church hall, in Ilex Way, Goring, on Friday, March 22, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £15, to include fish and chip supper and a glass of wine. Vegetarian and vegan meal options are available, as well as soft drink as an alternative to wine. There will also be a raffle at half time. Visit ticketlab.app/event/21663-CoppaQuiz-tickets# for more information and to book.

The CoppaTrek! With Gi will follow from June 8 to 14, with 120 trekkers and celebrity captains. Visit www.justgiving.com/page/melanie-phippen-1705188495757 to donate to Melanie’s fundraising effort.

Gi Fletcher said: "There’s a remarkable thing that happens when you put a bunch of strangers like this together in a new environment and set them a challenge. I simply love watching the bonds formed, seeing the trekkers encourage and support each other and the way fears are broken and a new confidence built.

"The fact they all do this in the name of CoppaFeel! is humbling. They walk so that one day another person will one day be trekking with CoppaFeel!, saying how doing these things has saved their life.”

The charity is on a mission to stamp out the late diagnosis of breast cancer by educating young people about getting to know their bodies, and empowering them to spot the early signs of the disease.

Melanie said: "I will set out on a challenging, extraordinary and life-changing trek, all in the name of checking chests. Along with Gi Fletcher and some other famous faces, I will be trekking approximately 100km across five days in the Brecon Beacons, in a bid to raise funds towards CoppaFeel!'s life-saving mission.

"I've never done anything like this before but am excited to challenge myself, in the year that I turn 40, to do something new and make a difference.

"Donations will not only support my fundraising target but most importantly CoppaFeel!. They are on a mission to stamp out the late diagnosis of breast cancer by making sure that young people are regularly checking their boobs, pecs and chests and getting to know their bodies in order to have the confidence to see their GP if something just doesn't feel normal."