Local solider to climb Kilimanjaro for breast cancer charity

Press release For immediate release: 10 May 2010 Press contact: Katie Power, 020 7749 3720 kpower@breastcancercampaign.org Local solider to climb Kilimanjaro for breast cancer charity An adventurous soldier from Grantham will be swapping the sands of Afghanistan for the snow-tipped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro later this year when she attempts to conquer the highest freestanding mountain in the world in support of Breast Cancer Campaign. Rebecca Abbott, 24, has just returned from a six month tour in Afghanistan, working as part of the Counter Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, and is now gearing up to prepare for her ten-day trek which begins on 29 September. It is an intense adventure that requires participants to tackle every eco-system known to mankind as they attempt to reach its summit, ascending over rough terrain and coping at high altitude conditions. Rebecca decided to sign up to the charity trek after a life-long friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. A few family members have also been affected by the disease so she was keen to take on the challenge as a way to show her support while raising money to help Breast Cancer Campaign beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research. Rebecca said “I was in Afghanistan when my friend was diagnosed so there was nothing I could do to help. So I decided to sign up to this trek to show my support for her and I know she’ll be really proud of me for reaching the summit and raising lots of money for charity. I’ve lost a lot of family to cancer recently and would like to try and stop others from suffering the way I’ve watched my family suffer. I believe that every little helps and that’s why I’m supporting Breast Cancer Campaign to help them beat this disease.” You can help Rebecca with her fundraising by making a donation on her online Just Giving page at www.original.justgiving.com/rebeccaabbott For more information about Campaign’s Mount Kilimanjaro Summit Climb or any other overseas challenge, please contact the events team on 020 7749 3700, email treks@breastcancercampaign.org or visit our website www.breastcancercampaign.org ENDS Notes to editors • Breast Cancer Campaign aims to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure • Currently it supports 117 research projects, worth £17 million, in 44 centres of excellence across the UK and Ireland • Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and accounts for nearly one in three of all cancers in women • In the UK, nearly 46,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year - that’s 125 a day • Visit www.breastcancercampaign.org • Read Chief Executive Pamela Goldberg’s blog http://pamelagoldbergblog.blogspot.com/

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