A MOTHER-OF TWO from Tadley who battled a rare neck cancer last year has set herself a major running charity challenge - raising nearly ten times her target.

Emma Poile was diagnosed with a rare type of head and neck cancer in July 2019. She had to undergo multiple surgeries, which didn’t work, and she was then taken in for a major facial degloving, jaw breaking and invasive surgery at Charing Cross Hospital in London in March 2020, ending up in Intensive Care.

The 48-year-old business team leader had a four month recovery process, where she could not work or drive, and then had to face six weeks of daily radiotherapy in the summer to target the remaining cancerous cells.

Since then, she has had to have speech therapy, has lost all hearing in one side, and has lost all nerve sensation in the right side of her face.

However, on December 17 2020 - her son Harry’s 20th birthday - Charing Cross Hospital gave her the all clear from cancer.

This month, Emma has set herself a running challenge to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

She decided to run 56 miles in February, and wanted to raise £150 - but has reached almost £1,500 in donations to date.

Emma’s friends and family, including Harry and his 14-year-old sister Imogen, are extremely proud of her. Sharing his mum’s story, trainee paramedic Harry told the Gazette: “My mum getting the all clear was an incredible birthday present!

“[She] decided to run 56 miles in February for Cancer Research UK - to which her consultant called her mad as she has been through such an extensive, major cancer treatment process.”

He added: “My mum is an unbelievably inspiring, positive and caring person who will do anything to help someone else. She has reached out to other people who are now facing their own battle with cancer to share words of advice and comfort.

“There really is nobody else like her. She's done incredibly.”

For more information and to support Emma’s charity challenge, visit: https://www.facebook.com/donate/701879483835551