MUM-of-two Isobel Minter is set to stride out on a marathon this weekend - to mark her ten years of surviving breast cancer.Mrs Minter was just 30 when she was diagnosed with cancer, six months after the birth of her son, leaving the family facing an agonising future.

MUM-of-two Isobel Minter is set to stride out on a marathon this weekend - to mark her ten years of surviving breast cancer.

Mrs Minter was just 30 when she was diagnosed with cancer, six months after the birth of her son, leaving the family facing an agonising future.

But now a decade on she wants to celebrate beating the killer disease and encourage other women suffering the trauma of chemotherapy.

Accompanied by friends mum-of-four Tracey Spalding, Tracy Griffiths, who has two children, and Donna Begg, who also has two youngsters, she is doing the London Playtex MoonWalk to raise awareness of breast cancer and raise funds for research.

“I wanted to do something special to celebrate my tenth anniversary of surviving the cancer and the MoonWalk seemed the perfect challenge,” said Mrs Minter, who lives with her husband Rob and children Jessie, 14, a student at Deben High, and William, ten, who goes to Colneis Junior, in Looe Road, Old Felixstowe.

“When I found the lump in my breast I was petrified.

“My daughter was four years old and my son six months and Rob was facing the prospect of losing his wife and being left with two very young children. It was horrible.

“It changed our whole outlook on life. It made us realise how precious life is, especially when you thought you might not be here in a few months' time - it was something we had never expected to happen and it was a real shock.

“We now make the most of all the time we have together and will never forget how important every day is.”

Mrs Minter said the treatment at Ipswich Hospital had been fantastic - she had her operation in less than three weeks after being diagnosed, and then had to endure six months of radiotherapy.

“The survival rate is so much better than it was then and 170,000 women are now still alive after having been diagnosed and treated in the past decade,” she said.

The quartet have been training since January for the MoonWalk on Saturday , gradually stepping up their miles per week as their fitness has increased.

Mrs Minter, who has walked 350 miles in the past five months, said: “We are all really excited and really looking forward to it - it should be an amazing event.”

They are hoping to raise about £5,000 and that some of the money raised will buy cold caps, which can stop hair loss for women undergoing cancer treatment.

People can contribute to the quartet's fundraising via www.justgiving.com\isobelminter or the other's names.

FASTFACTS: MoonWalk

The MoonWalk involves power walking a 26-mile marathon at night - starting from Hyde Park and walking through the streets of London.

Over the past ten years, more than 140,000 men and women have taken part in the event, wearing decorated bras to highlight breast cancer.

It has raised more than £35 million for research into breast cancer and practical help for sufferers.

Many celebrities have taken part in the event - including Jennifer Saunders, Lorraine Kelly, Kirstie Allsopp and Lisa Faulkner.

One in nine women in the UK are expected to experience some form of breast cancer and the walk aims to highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle - including diet and exercise.