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Sophie Drury

Sophie Drury

ROME MARATHON TRIBUTE TO INSPIRATIONAL YOUNG WOMAN WHO DEFIED OVARIAN CANCER FOR ALMOST A DECADE


 


FIFTY family and friends have joined forces to run next year’s Rome Marathon in honour of a remarkable young woman who defied the odds in battling ovarian cancer for almost a decade.

Sophie Drury was just 26 when she was diagnosed with the disease – the vast majority of ovarian cancers occur among women in their 50s.

Yet despite having Stage III ovarian cancer – by which time it is spreading to tissues outside of the pelvic area such as the bowel – Sophie remained determined to live life to the full.

During the next nine years, she would run, ski, scuba dive and even trek in the Himalayas.

It was only in the final months of her life that the 34-year-old’s quality of life started to diminish considerably. She died in April this year at the Prospect Hospice in Swindon, having returned just three days earlier from her and her husband Rob’s home in Frankfurt.

Within weeks of Sophie’s death, Rob, a senior manager with pharmaceuticals giant Merck, had vowed to honour his wife’s memory and raise money for her chosen cancer charities by running the Rome Marathon.

But within hours of informing his family and friends, 49 other people had committed to running the race with him in March next year.

So overwhelming was the support he received, Rob has launched Sophie’s Legacy to oversee the fundraising for this event and others in the future.

The two charities to receive proceeds from the Rome Marathon will be Prospect Hospice and Macmillan.

Beyond the marathon, leading publishers are showing interest in a book on Sophie’s battle with ovarian cancer, captured with humour and passion in regular blogs and diaries she wrote during the past decade.

Rob, 38, said: “Sophie’s death has left a huge void in the lives of those who knew her but her spirit and joie de vivre must live on. Sophie was an inspiration to so many people during her life and it was this ability to change people allied to her fierce determination that led us to set up Sophie’s Legacy.

Sophie’s Legacy is about inspiring cancer sufferers and supporting the carers and families through her chosen charities, Prospect Hospice and Macmillan, and remembering the passion Sophie brought to everything she did.”

Ovarian Cancer Facts
 



  • 60,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in the seven major western countries (UK, France, Germany, United States, Spain, Italy and Japan);

  • 7,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with the disease each year, killing almost two thirds;

  • Only 35 per cent of women survive five years from diagnosis, making ovarian cancer one of the most deadly;

  • Early diagnosis is rare – more than 75 per cent of diagnoses occur once the disease has reached Stage III or IV;

  • If the cancer is diagnosed at Stage I or II, survival rates are in excess of 90 per cent;

  • The preferred treatment for ovarian cancer is hysterectomy – the removal of ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus and omentum (the fatty pad of tissue protecting the front of the pelvic region);

  • Ovarian cancer has been dubbed the “silent killer” because of the difficulties in early detection;

     NOTES TO EDITORS
     

  • For more information or interviews, please call Nick Mason or Lucy Mason on 0151 239 5050 or 07903 197402/07903 237008 or  Nick Mason at Mason Media

  • The website for Sophie’s Legacy can be found at Sophies Legacy

  • A photo gallery charting Sophie’s battle with ovarian cancer is available upon request.

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