BRAVE Lesley Back may have been suffering from cancer for seven years - but she did not let that stop her completing a punishing charity walk.

BRAVE Lesley Back may have been suffering from cancer for seven years - but she did not let that stop her completing a punishing charity walk.

The courageous grandmother took part in the London Moonwalk which sees participants cover the distance of a marathon wearing decorated bras.

It takes place every year, with walkers setting off at midnight from Hyde Park, and the money raised is shared out between breast cancer charities.

Mrs Back, who has endured seven rounds of chemotherapy since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, finished the walk in eight hours and 15 minutes.

The mother-of-two, of Cavendish Street, Ipswich, has raised more than �400 after completing the walk which began at midnight on Saturday.

Her granddaughter decorated a pink bra with sequins and a feather boa for her to wear - but Mrs Back admitted that by the end it was tough going.

“Those last three miles it was a case of mind over matter, just keep focused and keep going because you have come so far,” she said.

“It seemed like the mile markers just got further and further apart. We were only three miles from finishing and there was just no way I was going to stop.

“I think eight hours and 15 minutes is pretty good for an old lady with cancer!”

Mrs Back first discovered she had breast cancer after attending her first mammogram appointment, a routine screening offered to all women in the UK aged 50 or over.

The diagnosis in February 2002 was followed by a lumpectomy and the removal of lymph nodes which found the cancer had spread. It is now in her liver and her lung.

But determined to be positive, the mum-of-two has got on with life, taking part in the fundraising Race for Life every year, learning to horse ride - and completing the Moonwalk.

She is now taking a break from chemotherapy to enjoy a holiday in Venice with her partner Glenn Minton and a trip to Thailand to see her son, John, who lives in the south east Asian country.

Anyone who would like to add to her sponsorship money can find her fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/lesleyback