Reach for the Moon

Each one of them has a story tell. Sometimes they are stories of triumph, sometimes of tragedy. But in one way or another they are all stories about the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Next Saturday at midnight, 12,000 women and men will begin the third Edinburgh MoonWalk to raise vital funds for breast cancer causes across the country. Scotland on Sunday is proud to be the event's media sponsor. Over the past two years, the MoonWalk has raised an astonishing £4.5m and organisers hope to add another £3m to their coffers after next weekend's event. Here, just a few of the walkers tell Jeremy Watson their inspiring stories…

THE CAMPBELL SISTERS' STORY

T WAS just before Christmas in the Campbell household. All were looking forward to the festive period. Mum Myra, a teacher, was busy with preparations for the big day with the help of her two daughters Eilidh and Catriona.

Then their idyllic family Christmas disintegrated in the face of devastating news. Myra, principal teacher of English at the local secondary school in Lerwick, Shetland, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Eilidh, now 22, remembers the moment two years ago well. "It was horrible," she said. "We all got a hell of a shock. We just didn't know what was going to happen."

Next weekend, Eilidh, a bar worker, and 20-year-old Catriona, now a student in Glasgow, will join the thousands of women and men taking part in the 2008 MoonWalk, making the 600-mile round trip from their island home.

"Mum is fine now after treatment," Eilidh said. "What happened to her came out of nowhere and it has really spurred us on."

Their family ordeal has been like a crash course in oncology, and it has raised the sisters' awareness of the issues surrounding cancer research.

"It's not that we weren't aware of cancer, it's just that you think it will never happen to your close family. You stupidly think you are immune to it but you never are," said Eilidh.

There was no history of the disease in the Campbell family, Myra said. "This came totally out of the blue. I was diagnosed in 2006 and operated on in January 2007 and then went through the treatments. I had a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy. I've just had my first-year check and I'm fine."

Hearing the diagnosis was "a huge shock", she added. "Cancer is a word you avoid but when it happened to me I just had to get on with the treatment."

She was operated on at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow. "The treatment was better than I expected and because of the people you meet on the journey – everyone from the cleaners to the consultants – a strangely positive experience.

"I am not saying for one minute that I wasn't frightened – it was terrifying. It would have been better if it hadn't happened. But I'm not scared of the word any more because of the way I was treated by everyone involved." Eilidh has been out training in her breaks from work and both she and her younger sister are doing the 26.2-mile Full Moon walk. "I'm not into fitness at all whereas Catriona is a dancer and is very fit. But we are both very positive that we will complete it.

"The midnight start suits me as I'm a bit of an insomniac!"

SUE'S STORY

In a friendly village with a strong sense of community, an individual's ordeal is often shouldered by the entire community. That's exactly what has happened in North Queensferry – where Prime Minister Gordon Brown has his family home – a village with its share of breast cancer cases.

The experience of local families affected by cancer persuaded Sue Rankin, pictured right, and her team-mates that they should find a practical way of showing they cared. So they decided to get fit and raise money for cancer charities through the MoonWalk.

"A couple of girls here had breast cancer and recovered from it and they have spurred us on," said Sue, a 48-year-old childminder. "The village has been touched by it – as have many places across the country. Two of the girls did the MoonWalk last year and so I decided to join in this year. There are six of us from North Queensferry and two friends from outside."

Walkers can choose either the 13-mile "half moon" walk or the full 26-mile version. "We were talking about doing 13 miles but I said no, let's do the full 26. It's my fault we are now doing the whole thing.

"We have been out training and are confident of doing it. It's just that many of us have young children so we won't get much rest on the Saturday and so sleep deprivation could kick in about 4am. At least we should be able to see the Forth Bridge by about then and that will spur us on again for the long stretch down to Portobello."

The team has already raised £4,000 through a 'Ladies' Night' and hope to have raised more than £5,000 by the end of next Sunday's exertions.

Naming themselves 'Feet Fae the Ferry', they will wear bras decorated with a motif of their village's iconic landmark. The local Ferrybridge Inn is hosting a celebration breakfast for the walkers on the Sunday morning. "We hope there will be food on the table top and bowls of cold water underneath," said Rankin.

OLIVE'S STORY

For Olive Macleod, memories of breast cancer stretch back to the age of just nine when the disease claimed her mother. "It had a big impact on me at that age and, of course, I've never forgotten what happened," Olive, below, explained. Her mother was just 29 when she was first diagnosed.

The spectre of the disease has stretched down through the generations. At 27, Olive discovered a lump in her breast too. Fortunately, it was benign. The same experience also affected her sister but both were quick to seek medical help.

"We have been very well looked after by the medical profession and it's important that happens. The earlier it is found the more can be done about it. That's the message I'd like to get across."

Taking part next weekend is her way of honouring her mother's memory. "When I heard about the MoonWalk three years ago I contacted the organisers in London. They said there was going to be an Edinburgh MoonWalk, and would I be interested? I have taken part ever since."

On Saturday, Olive, a 57-year-old accountant, will meet up with daughter Aimee, 27, a physiotherapist, who is doing the walk with her for the second time. "The difficult thing is that you do it at a time when your body is telling you that you should be asleep. The last three miles are hell but it's a great feeling when you finish."

ALAN'S STORY

The life of the long-distance athlete is often solitary, especially when you are a 57-year-old man wearing a size-34 white bra.

For the past six months, Alan Frank, right. has been beating a trail from his home in Innerleithen in the Borders along the banks of the River Tweed as he gets fit and tries to get used to his unusual attire, risking the disapproving glances of local fishermen.

It's worth it, he said, to make sure that when he takes part in the 'full moon' he's comfortable with what he is wearing.

A father of three who works in insurance, Frank first became involved with the walk after hearing the story of Nina Barough, the breast cancer survivor who started the Walk the Walk charity. He had never participated in a marathon walk before, was a little out of shape and rarely exercised, but he said he felt compelled to do something.

"Cancer is such an invidious thing and you feel like you can't help the person who is suffering," Frank said. "I watched my mother-in-law die from it. Close family friends, neighbours and the mother of one of my daughter's close friends have been lost to cancer. This week I'm going to bury one of my friends who died of leukaemia. I couldn't physically help them, but this was something that I could do."

He started training back in January, a time when training after work was usually cold, dark and miserable. But the knowledge that thousands of other Scots were out there in the same conditions helped, and gradually the weather got better and the training got easier. It's only recently he's put the bra on during his practice so that he has a better feel of what the real walk will be like.

"It's kind of an awkward thing, but it's not too strange because I know that the other blokes do it," Frank said of his newest piece of training gear, soon to be getting an artistic makeover from his daughter. "People that I pass are always very supportive. It feels almost like the webbing that we used to wear in the army."

KAY'S STORY

When the first Edinburgh MoonWalk was held two years ago, Kay Lindsay was among the volunteer marshals providing assistance and encouragement along the route. "I was at Portobello from around 2am to 8am.

There was a beautiful sunrise about 4am when the walkers are about 20 miles in and getting tired and I think that gave them all inspiration."

Kay herself was diagnosed with breast cancer 11 years ago at the age of 36 and is now fine after treatment. It was her own brush with the disease that inspired her to offer her services, helping the walkers to negotiate the route. Last year, the Edinburgh University researcher took part in the walk along with her husband and friends.

Next Saturday, she will be in the Meadows again in a volunteering role, helping to get the thousands of walkers on their way. "Three of us who walked last year will be volunteers this year," she said. "The volunteers play a vital role in the organisation of the event and I do it because it's fun. The other great thing is that all the money raised in Scotland is spent in Scotland."

With only a few days to go, the MoonWalk still needs to find some willing volunteers to help throughout the night and especially on Early Bird shifts. If you would like to donate your time and unite against breast cancer, call the volunteer team on 01483 741430.