DUAL PURPOSE
Mum and dad to cycle 2419 miles on a tandem to mark each day their daughter Kate fought cancer
Kate was all about people doing the best they could MUM MAGS
A COUPLE who lost their daughter after she battled cancer for 2419 days are honouring her memory by cycling the same number of miles on a tandem bike.
Mags and Dave Fenwick plan to complete the gruelling mission, which will also include climbing Munros, on what would have been Kate’s 32nd birthday in September.
The couple will tackle the North Coast 500 and John Muir Way as well as climbing Ben Ledi and Ben Nevis.
Super-fit Kate was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2009 but still managed to complete a quadrathlon, two Moon Walks and a Tough Mudder while having treatment.
She lost her fight for life on January 30 in 2015 surrounded by her loving family, including husband Sean, 31, and devoted sister Jenny, 28.
Mags, of Linlithgow, West Lothian, said: “Kate had cancer for 2419 days, which is six-and-a-half years.
“She wasn’t desperately ill every single day but she was on treatment the whole time and at the end it was horrific. She lost everything, which was really hard for her and us.
“When she was alive, Kate was all about people doing the best they could for themselves, whether it was a physical challenge or giving up a bad habit. She was all about encouraging people to do things they’ve always wanted to. In a moment of madness, I decided to do 2419 miles by bike and on foot.
“A lot of it will be on the bike to get the miles in and I’ve roped my husband Dave into doing it with me and we’ve got a tandem bike so he doesn’t have a choice.
“While we’re raising money, it’s more about trying to get people to do something in Kate’s honour and for every other cancer patient.
“Kate was so brave. So every time I’m feeling a bit sad and sorry for myself on the bike, I just think Kate went through a lot more than this while she was undergoing treatment so I’ve just got to get on with it.”
Mags – who recently won the judge’s choice gong at the Pride of West Lothian awards – and Dave have completed more than 1067 miles of the challenge, which began in March. Kate was told she had secondary cancer at the end of 2013 and was put on a medical trial, which appeared to be working.
She went on to marry Sean in May 2014 before a honeymoon in Canada. But later that year, Kate had a seizure on a trip to Loch Lomond.
Mags said: “That was the beginning of the end really. The cancer had spread to her brain so the trial had to stop.”
She added: “Kate never smoked, didn’t do drugs, drank in moderation and was the fittest person yet it still happened to her. I’m still asking the question why.”
The family founded a charity called Bosom Buds and aim to provide services not available on the NHS to those battling cancer. ●To find out more about Bosom Buds, visit www.bosombudsof scotland.org. To sponsor Mags and Dave, visit www.justgiving. com/fundraising/Margaretand-David-Fenwick