A RENFREWSHIRE woman has told how her mum’s brave battle against cancer provided inspiration for a gruelling charity challenge.

Vicki McCabe has pushed herself to run 100 kilometres during March to raise money for breast cancer research.

She has had to get up at 5am most mornings to pound the streets before heading off to her job as a teacher but is hoping her challenge will also raise awareness and encourage women to regularly check their breasts for the disease.

Vicki, 34, said she was thinking about her courageous mum, Carol Turner, every step of the way as she completed the 100km.

She told The Gazette: “A few years ago, I was expecting my first baby and mum was diagnosed with breast cancer just before I was about to give birth.

“Mum is an incredible woman and she gave me such amazing support.

“Even through all of her chemo, she was still supporting me as a new mum. She is just an amazing woman. Watching her go through everything she went through after her cancer diagnosis showed me the incredible strength she has.

“She is really well now, she has made a great recovery. She is my motivation for doing this.”

Vicki, who lives in Paisley and is a principal teacher at Neilston Primary, said she has been “overwhelmed” by the amount of support she has had from family, friends and colleagues during her fundraising effort for the Breast Cancer Now charity.

She added: “I saw the Breast Cancer Now challenge and thought ‘you know what, that looks great.’

“I have been up at 5am most mornings before school but I’ve had great support from my husband David and my colleagues, including Fiona Pearce, who is a pupil support assistant at the school and has been wearing pink every day this month.

“It has been really lovely. Last Friday, when I came into school, everyone was wearing pink and there were balloons up. Everyone has just been so supportive.”

Vicki has raised more than £1,000 for Breast Cancer Now.

She added: “I set up a Facebook page for donations and raised around £1,080 but I’m not only doing this to raise money, I also want to raise awareness and remind everyone to check their breasts.”

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK but, if treated early enough, it can be prevented from spreading.

The first symptom most women notice is a lump or an area of thickened tissue in their breast and, although most lumps aren’t cancerous, it is always best to have them checked by your doctor.

For more about breast cancer, HERE.

To support Vicki by making a donation, visit HERE.