100km trek across Sahara for breast cancer charity

A WESTBURY woman is trekking 100km across the Sahara to raise money for Coppafeel- a breast cancer awareness charity which focuses on young people. 

Tess Rugg says she was inspired to take on the challenge on the 12th to 19th November following one of her friends being diagnosed with breast cancer when she was just 25. Tess was selected out of thousands of applicants to undertake this challenge. 

Tess said, “I am doing this challenge because it is so important to get everyone checking their chests on a regular basis (no matter what your age or gender). My wonderful friend was diagnosed with stage IV inflammatory breast cancer in 2019 at aged 25.  

“Because she knew to look out for changes in her body, she was able to get treatment quickly and is still here fighting today – and for that I am so grateful. I want to make sure that every single person knows how to look for the signs of breast cancer, and has the confidence to see their GP if something does not feel right.” 

Alongside Tess will be 100 other trekkers, as well as celebrity team captains Giovanna Fletcher, Vicky Pattison, Dr. Emeka Okorocha and two further team leads still to be announced. You can see more about the trek and charity here: https://coppafeel-tresahara.blackbaud-sites.com/ 

Tess added, “I believe thousands of applicants applied, and the charity and Giovanna Fletcher went through these applications and selected 100 people from them. Myself and the other trekkers have had the chance to get to know each other via Zoom and WhatsApp and are from all ages and backgrounds – many of them are cancer survivors or currently in active treatment. They are an amazing bunch.  

“I have been fundraising online through my Twitch community (so doing fundraising livestreams etc), as well as recently running a raffle with prizes (thanks to The View who offered a prize in Westbury). I had to pledge to raise £2,750 minimum by November and I am currently on £2,439, which is great, but I am on the last push now to get to the goal and beyond! 

“Everyone has breast tissue – people of all ages, races and genders. In the UK, 1 in 7 women and about 1 in 100 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. 1 in 5 will be under the age of 50. If breast cancer is diagnosed early, it is curable. The founder of CoppaFeel! was diagnosed at age 23, which is why she started the charity as there was a lack of awareness in this age group, and they were the first breast cancer charity in the UK to solely create awareness amongst young people. 

“The charity has some great resources such as a text reminder service that sends you an SMS every month, often with a little poem or something funny, reminding you to check your chest. They also have a “self-checkout” that runs through all the steps. You can send off for some shower stickers too which have the steps – I have one myself and have made it a habit to check my chest every time I’m in the shower.” 

You can find out more about the charity and their mission here: https://coppafeel.org/our-charity/ 

If you would like to donate to Tess visit: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/ruggstickles