Breast cancer survivor’s 100km Sahara trek celebrates ‘getting to live’

A breast cancer survivor is to trek 100km (62 miles) across the Sahara desert to mark 10 years since she was given the all-clear.

Jackie Scully, 42, from Greenwich, south London, will set off across the North African terrain on Saturday in memory of her friend who died from the same illness.

The marketing executive has raised over £150,000 over the last decade by taking on a series of challenges, including climbing 24 peaks in 48 hours in the Lake District.

Mrs Scully also broke a Guinness World Record at the London Marathon in April for the fastest marathon time in a 10-person costume, while in July, she and 120 people ran 10km from different locations around the country.

Jackie Scully broke a Guinness World Record at the London Marathon in April for the fastest marathon time in a 10-person costume (Ed Roe/PA)PA Media - Ed Roe

Her five-day trek across the Sahara in Morocco will raise funds for Breast Cancer Now, NHS Charities Together and the Willow Foundation, organisations which supported her throughout her treatment and recovery.

“The Sahara desert is all about a friend of mine – we were diagnosed the same week with a very similar diagnosis of breast cancer,” Mrs Scully told the PA news agency.

“We were the same age, and we found each other through treatment time and we did lots of fundraising together.

“We were of a very similar age with similar stories. She was re-diagnosed with breast cancer. I got to live and she died.

“One of the last things she did before she was re-diagnosed was she trekked the Sahara desert.”

Mrs Scully was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, at the age of 32, which resulted in having her right breast removed and undergoing a tummy tuck procedure.

She also had her pelvis rebuilt in 2007, at the age of 24 due to having hip dysplasia.

Jackie Scully has been cancer free for 10 years (Jackie Scully/PA)PA Media - Jackie Scully

“I’m sort of bionic, because I’ve been sort of rebuilt from the left side up the right side,” she said.

“But it’s everything that has happened to me, all my scars, the fact I don’t even have a nipple on my right side, none of that matters.

“What matters is that I got my body back – I get to live, and I get to live in the most spectacular way by going out into the middle of nowhere, into landscapes that many people will never see and get to share that experience with really great friends.”

For this upcoming challenge Mrs Scully will have to compete with a different climate, uneven ground and dry conditions.

“It’s going to be a real challenge for my hip, as I live in pretty much constant pain,” she said.

“Because of the way that my legs are built, I find it very difficult to walk on uneven ground.

“This challenge for me is a brilliant way of closing the last decade and showing to myself that you can go an awful long way with the right people by your side.”

To find out more, visit Mrs Scully’s fundraising page here: justgiving.com/team/100kourway