Harborough woman with incurable cancer to start Race for Life

Sophie Williams was diagnosed with stage four anal cancer in 2018

A woman living with incurable cancer is set to act as the VIP starter for the Race for Life in Leicester this weekend.

Sophie Williams, 52, from Market Harborough, is the first person to survive a pioneering and gruelling 12-hour operation.

She then faced months of isolation, more high risk surgery and radiotherapy.

But she was then given the devastating news her cancer was incurable.

Her last hope is a six-month course of chemotherapy, which has just ended.

And even though she cannot venture far from home, Ms Williams is determined to make it to Victoria Park in Leicester for the Race for Life event this Sunday, where she take the stage to start the race with special peg angel dolls her mother created in her honour.

She said: "I'm determined not to give up. In fact, I refuse to give up. I've been wanting to do Race for Life for years, but I haven't been well enough, so I'm really excited about taking the angels with me this year."

Ms Williams was diagnosed with stage four anal cancer in 2018 and was the first person to ever survive an operation to to remove a tumour the size of a melon and rebuild her internal pelvic area using stomach muscle.

Ms Williams's mother Jan Hamilton created the peg dolls in honour of daughter in the hope they would assist the fundraising campaign she began in December named 'Yeah But No Butt', which is a reference to the Little Britain character Vicky Pollard.

Ms Hamilton said she felt as though the angels embodied the spirit of her daughter.

"The dolls came about because I couldn't do what I really wanted to do, which was to make Sophie better," she said.

"I thought fundraising would be a good idea, so I looked at some Christmas decorations and what emerged was a little angel that reminded me of Sophie, beautiful and smiling and with her arms out ready to give everybody a hug."

Ms Hamilton said the angels embodied the spirit of her daughter

Members of the mum and daughter's family and friends have since taken the dolls to various places that Ms Williams is now unable to visit to take pictures of them, including Los Angeles, Paris and even at Harry Styles' Wembley Stadium concert.

Ms Williams added: "My mum is my absolute saviour. She's helped me through every single day and seeing these dolls has given me such a massive boost. They started to take off on social media when I asked people to take them wherever they went on my behalf. My health means I can't do all the things I'd like to do, and I love to travel, so watching where they pop up on people's adventures has been brilliant.

"I have to live each day as it comes but I feel lucky to be here and to have the support of so many wonderful friends."