Mum who battled cancer at the same time as her father will take part in a double fundraising challenge in his memory

A north London mum of three who underwent treatment for cancer at the same time as her father is taking part in a double fundraising challenge in his memory.

Sarah Rubin, 41, finished her treatment for breast cancer last year after intense chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a mastectomy and two lymph node removals. In June, she will complete a 100km trek for CoppaFeel to raise awareness of the importance of checking for early signs of the disease, just four months before she is due to run the London Marathon for pancreatic cancer on 2 October.

Sarah, who has three boys and lives in East Finchley, was diagnosed at the end of 2020, while her father Graham was having chemo for stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Liverpool. He died earlier this year aged 70.

“I am passionate about raising awareness for cancer, particularly about breast cancer and the BRCA gene,” she said. “When I was diagnosed, I assumed I had the BRCA gene as my dad was a carrier, but it turned out it was just a coincidence that we had cancer at the same time.

“Dad became my chemo twin – we both had our sessions on a Wednesday, but I knew his cancer was terminal whereas mine was hopefully coming to an end, which was really hard. He died in January, so this trek will be even more meaningful.”

Sarah, who takes daily tablets and has monthly injections to reduce the risk of recurrence, will join I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! winner Giovanna Fletcher and Instagram star Megan Jayne Crabbe, among other celebrities, after being selected from more than a thousand applicants to participate on the gruelling five-day trek in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

“I love to train and this ticks all the boxes for me,” she said. “The marathon has been on my bucket list for a long time and now feels like the right time to do it.

“I feel passionate about the importance of research for pancreatic cancer as often it’s diagnosed too late. It’s a charity so close to my heart.”

Sarah, who works for the family retail business, Chums.co.uk, says: “I’m trying to up my training and knowing dad knew I wanted to do something to help others is always in my mind.

“I think he would have been really proud.”

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