Olivia Alderson looks ahead to a big fundraising event at the weekend

Nearly six years ago, when my youngest son was 12 weeks old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was 36 years old, I had three children aged five and under and I had cancer. That sort of thing didn’t happen to people like me.

It was an enormous shock, but I picked myself up and got on with the treatment – chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Three weeks after finishing all the treatment, I discovered another lump, this time on the other side, so I then had to go through the same treatment all over again and discovered through genetic tests that I had the BRCA 1 gene alteration, that gave me an 85 per cent chance of having breast cancer and a 40 per cent chance of ovarian cancer.

Knowing this, I then proceeded to have my ovaries removed and a double mastectomy with reconstruction.

We really did hope this would finally be the end of it, but six months after having had the operation, they found a lump in my neck and the cancer was back.

It was at this point that I discovered Professor Justin Stebbing. An appointment was made and within minutes of meeting him, I transferred all my treatment to him in London. I have been treated by him since.

His tremendous drive and determination to fight this horrid disease, fills his patients like me with hope, confidence and positivity, giving us the courage to carry on. Having seen Justin on the recent BBC programme Inside Harley Street I feel extraordinarily lucky to be treated by him.

Having young children is a wonderful distraction, they certainly make you get up in the mornings, however difficult it may be, and I have an extremely supportive family and friends, which all helps enormously.

A group of mothers at my sons’ school then decided to organise a 26-mile sponsored walk based in Oxfordshire, called WalkWithMe. I decided to do it, to prove that life carries on after breast cancer and managed to raise nearly £8,000 – an incredible experience and a huge personal challenge. WalkWithMe has been taking place each year since, raising £165,000 for local and national charities.

I discovered that Prof Stebbing leads a research team at Hammersmith Hospital which is largely funded by Action Against Cancer, who carry out ground-breaking research to find new treatments for cancers of all types.

Last year’s WalkWithMe raised a staggering £110,000 for Action Against Cancer. It was an incredible day which seemed to strike a chord with so many people. The money raised was used to fund a world class PhD student, Giulia Lucciara, to work with Prof Stebbing. Her passion and dedication to her work is extraordinary. We wanted to carry on that legacy, so this year we are raising money for Action Against Cancer again.

WalkWithMe2015 is this Sunday, starting and finishing at Moulsford Prep School, near Wallingford. It is a 26-mile walk through the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside and covers part of the historic Ridgeway path. It is open to anyone.

For me, life carries on. I try to do everything I can, which is often hard due to the restraints of chemotherapy, but it is important for me to stay positive and do everyday things, especially for my children.

Life definitely has its ups and downs, but I am very lucky to still be here, thanks to the treatment I continue to receive from Prof Stebbing, so I am one of the lucky ones and every day I thank my lucky stars for that. Long may it continue.

To register, for more information, and to donate, please look at the WalkWithMe website walkwithme2015.com.

For more information about the charity Action Against Cancer, go to aacancer.org