Thanks for clicking on my just giving page... all I ask is a few minutes of your time to read the story of my friend Charlotte and then to give as generously as you can so that by running the 10k in Tel Aviv I can help this truly inspiring woman to get closer to her goal of raising £2million. Whatever you can manage will be sincerely and gratefully received. Thank you so much in advance to all of you who decide to help.

Now please read... 

The joy of early pregnancy is often accompanied by the fear of miscarriage, which is very common and affects one in five pregnancies. Less common is a Molar Pregnancy – when the pregnancy ends not only in a miscarriage, but cancer.

Few people have ever heard of a Molar Pregnancy – Charlotte Solomon, 34 certainly hadn’t when it happened to her in 2010. Following a hellish year when instead of 9 months of pregnancy, she underwent 9 months of intensive chemotherapy, Charlotte has dedicated herself to raising awareness of this terrible and unknown illness, which can affect any woman, at any age – whether it be a first, second or third pregnancy.

Molar Pregnancy is a rare condition that arises during pregnancy and causes pre-cancerous cells to develop in the womb. More often than not, the body naturally rids itself of these cells after an inevitable miscarriage, but in some cases a cancerous tumour can develop, which if not treated quickly enough can spread to other parts of the body. The condition is completely random and is still not fully understood.

“To go from one of the most beautiful moments in life, to the despair of miscarriage, and then the fear of discovering a critical illness, is certainly the most challenging thing I have ever had to deal with. Thankfully, in April I was given the “all clear”, but only now am I beginning to get my life back, and it’s still far from easy. Having been through this, I’m incredibly passionate about helping anyone else who may be unfortunate enough to have the same experience.” Charlotte Solomon

Charlotte has begun a national fund-raising campaign and contacted over 2000 other women in the UK who have had Molar Pregnancies, with the aim of collectively raising £2 million over the next 3 years. The 2012 Get Naked Calendar is Charlotte’s first personal fundraising initiative, from which she has already raised over £75,000. 

The money raised will go to the Cancer Treatment & Research Trust and the Medical Oncology Department at Charing Cross Hospital, where there is a specialised team who monitor and treat Molar Pregnancies. They desperately need funding for pioneering technology to allow them to accurately diagnose the condition far more quickly, through the development of a biomarker that would enable them to identify which “moles” will become malignant. The entire research project will cost £2 million. Not only will this project speed up the treatment process, it will ultimately allow patients to return “normal” life far sooner.