Bradford on Avon walker to trek Himalayas for Forever Friends Appeal

Mrs Hobbs, 46, who lives in Bradford on Avon, is no stranger to cancer. Apart from herself, three members of her family have also suffered with the disease including her mother who died of bowel cancer five years ago.

She said: “I myself have had Hodgkins Lymphoma twice and spent a long time in and out of hospital from 1996 to 2000. I was successfully treated with a stem cell transplant in late 1999 followed up by a spell of radiotherapy.”

She will join other fundraisers in the India Dalai Lama challenge, trekking nearly 45 miles across the Himalayas over five days.

Mrs Hobbs said: “As cancer has touched my family in so many ways, I can think of no better way to say thank you than to help raise funds for a new cancer centre at the hospital in Bath.

“I have so much to celebrate including my dad and my husband’s health as well as being 15 years cancer free; all as a result of all the wonderful care we have received.”

The Forever Friends Appeal aims to raise £8.5m to build a new state-of-art cancer centre at the hospital which is hoped to be open by 2018.

Mrs Hobbs, who works at the University of Bath, said that in preparation for the trek, she will be walking up mountains to get used to a steep incline.

She added: “For my own milestone I wanted to do something physically challenging, so when the opportunity to trek through the foothills of the Himalaya’s rose I jumped at the chance.”

She will start the walk on October 20 and is self-funding the trip to ensure that every penny raised will go towards the new addition at the hospital.

Mrs Hobbs added: “It is such an important cause to me as this new centre will help the lives of so many local families, like my own. The trek is going to be such momentous occasion and I can’t wait to see what India has in store for me.”

To donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/Lindsey-Hobbs.