During a routine smear test back in 2000, Anita Wigglesworth of Longtown, Hereford found herself diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 38. Now, having been clear for 16 years she is set to cycle 100km through the streets of London in the biggest female cycling event in the UK; Women V Cancer Ride the Night.

Before diagnosis, Anita had suffered none of the typical symptoms of cervical cancer and with no genetic links to the disease her diagnosis was a complete shock. She said;

“I felt really well and was probably in the best shape of my life so my diagnosis was a devastating blow. When they tell you that you have cancer your automatic thought is that you are going to die. At this point my son Joshua was 10 years old and had already lost his father a few years previously. My initial thoughts were about how my son would cope.”

Luckily, Anita’s cancer was caught before it spread and the tumour was small enough to be operated on; just a week after her diagnosis she underwent a radical hysterectomy.

“I had only just come to terms with the fact I had cancer and felt grateful that it was treatable, but the hysterectomy was another huge blow. I had only recently met my partner and we had plans to have children together as he didn’t have any himself, so this made my treatment even harder to deal with.

“At the time I felt so unfortunate that I had ended up with cancer. Now I just feel lucky that my cancer was treatable and I was able to watch my son grow up. I wanted to give something back following on from my cancer and Ride the Night is the perfect way to do that.”

On Saturday 28th May Anita will join over 3000 other women taking part in Women V Cancer Ride the Night, riding 100km through London at night to raise crucial funds for the three event charities; Breast Cancer Care, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action. Her contribution will help to raise funds and awareness for diseases that affect so many people.

Since her illness, Anita has encouraged her friends to make sure they attend their smear checks and champions awareness of the symptoms of cervical cancer. She said;

“Sadly, I didn’t know about Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust during my treatment but I really wish I had. Since discovering it I have realised it would have been a tremendous support so I want to help them continue to be there for others.”

Robert Music, Chief Executive, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust said:

“We are incredibly excited to be a part of Women V Cancer for another year. The money raised by these inspirational women will enable us to support even more women who have been affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities and fund our campaigns which aim to prevent many more from being diagnosed from this devastating disease. We wish Anita the very best of luck for her ride.”

If you would like to support Anita, her JustGiving page can be found at: https://www.justgiving.com/Anita-Wigglesworth1

Due to such popular demand, entries for Ride the Night 2016 have now closed, but entries for the 2017 event which will take place on the night of Saturday 27th May 2017 are now open with an early bird discount of 25% off entries.

You can find all event information and details of how to register for 2017 on the event website: www.ridethenight.co.uk