Sarah Martelli running for Gynaecological cancer

My name is Sarah Martelli, I am a 36 year old woman living in Reporoa on a dairy farm with my husband and 3 young children.

18 months ago, a pain in my lower tummy prompted a visit to Rotorua hospital, where I was diagnosed with a rare condition called a Molar Pregnancy. I was told by doctors that I was pregnant, but instead of growing a baby, I was growing a tumour. Later my diagnosis developed into something called Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (I had never heard of it before!), where basically the tumour spread outside of my uterus and sent cancer cells around my body. I got very sick, I needed 6 months of intensive chemotherapy, I lost my hair, lost all my energy and strength, lost all my self confidence and the worst part was I was too sick to care for my children.

But thankfully due to early detection, the disease I had was treatable with chemotherapy. I eventually got better, was given the all clear and just the other week I celebrated my first year of being cancer free.

So I've been on a bit of a mission lately! A year ago I couldn't even walk to my letterbox without feeling tired. I was determined to build up my strength again, I started walking and then running short distances, eventually building up my fitness and on the 6th May I am very proud to say that I will be running in the Rotorua half marathon! It is my first big running event since finishing chemo just over a year ago.

So then I thought, if I can run 21km, then perhaps I can raise some money for a very worthy cause. The goal I am wanting to achieve is to donate $100 for every kilometer I run, so $2100 to the New Zealand Gynaecological Cancer Foundation. If I could reach that target, wow, that would be amazing, and I would feel like something good has come out of me being sick.

In New Zealand 3 women are diagnosed and 1 woman dies every day from a gynaecological cancer (the most common being cervical and ovarian).

The NZGCF supports women who are affected by gynaecological cancers in all stages of their journey. Their mission is to educate women about the signs and symptoms of these cancers, as early detection helps save lives. They are a not-for-profit orginisation, relying solely on donations from the public to continue their work.

Please follow me on my Facebook page Strong Woman (#strongwomannz) which follows my journey and where you can see me post photos in the lead up to my half marathon run. Thank You for sponsoring me for my run, all of the money raised is going to such a good cause and something that will now always be a part of my life.

Love Sarah Xx