A teenage cancer survivor from Broughty Ferry is “celebrating still being alive” this month with a fundraising cycle around local beauty spots.
Elita McFarlane, 14, has already had support from the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust which helped her to sail part of the way around Britain as she recovered from kidney cancer.
Now, the schoolgirl adventurer, who experienced a relapse 18 months ago, is pedalling 122 miles around local trails, including those at Monikie Country Park, to raise money for the trust.
She plans to finish her challenge on September 30 – the fifth anniversary of the day she was first diagnosed with the disease.
Elita said: “I wanted to raise money for the trust to try help them just a little bit, because they have helped me so much.
“I want as many children and young people as possible who’ve had cancer to get to experience these amazing trips and be helped by them.
“The timing of this fundraiser is perfect too as it will be five years exactly on September 30 since my cancer journey began.
“I hope to finish my cycle challenge that day and celebrate still being alive.”
She is taking part in the trust’s virtual Round Britain Your Way event. It runs throughout September to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a national charity that helps young people aged eight to 24 to “embrace their future after cancer.”
Young people in recovery from cancer have sailed around Britain twice with the trust in 2009 and 2017.
In Round Britain Your Way, volunteers run, swim, walk, cycle or create their own challenge to collectively travel the 4,800 miles the young people sailed on each of those two voyages.
Elita took part in the fifth leg of Round Britain in 2017 and sailed 122 miles from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
She said the length of her earlier adventure had inspired this month’s cycling challenge.
She added: “I love absolutely every minute of these trips. The people are always so great and it’s lovely being with people who just get what it’s like to have cancer.
“It’s no big deal, it’s just normal. You can talk about it if you want, or just enjoy not having to talk about it or think about it for a while.
“I have made great friends through the trust and they really helped me when I had my relapse 18 months ago.
“The first person I told about it was a girl I’d met on a trust trip. I just knew she would understand and get how I was feeling.”
