Suffolk mum's fundraising feat after she was told she had cancer during a pregnancy scan

A pregnant mother who discovered that she had bladder cancer when she went for an ultrasound scan to find out the sex of her baby, says she wants to do whatever she can to "tackle this evil disease".

Janine Edgar, 44, from Hadleigh in Suffolk, went on to have a healthy baby boy, Jonty, who was delivered early before the growth could cause serious harm to either of them, but her early months of motherhood were marred by surgery and treatment.

She later lost her mother to an acute form of acute myeloid leukaemia - a cancer of the white blood cells.

Now the training manager will be raising money for Cancer Research UK when she takes part in a half marathon next month.

"Cancer Research UK is doing some of the best work on the planet around targeting the symptoms of bladder cancer, but it's also up to us to talk about it more," she said.

"I urge people to get your symptoms checked - there should not be blood in your wee!

"I don't want anyone to have to go through what we went through - it was supposed to be the best time of our lives but it was so painful to deal with."

Jonty, who had a growth right next to his head on his 20-week scan at Ipswich Hospital in 2006, is now 17 and has a sister Eloise, 15.

"I'll never be able to repay the NHS or Cancer Research for saving my life and allowing me to become the mum I always dreamed of, but I'll raise as much money as I can and do whatever I can to help both for the rest of my life" Mrs Edgar said.

"Jonty always reminds me that they might have missed the growth in my bladder if his head wasn't in the perfect spot, so I guess he'll continue to dine out on the fact he's my knight in shining armour."

She added: "I want to show people that a cancer diagnosis, at whatever time in your life, does not define who you are as a person."

With a friend she set up a women's running group, Hadleigh Jeffing Queens, which has nearly 50 members and helps women of all ages and backgrounds to talk about some of the challenges they face.

"These women are all queens! All of them have had to overcome hurdles to be here, whether they be mental or physical, so we all love to support each other through whatever we are facing" she said.

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