Minister who survived cancer takes plunge for swimathon

A minister has opened up about how her Christian faith helped her survive cancer twice ahead of taking part in a charity swimming event.

Rev Julie Moody of Milton of Campsie Church in East Dunbartonshire is raising funds in aid of Cancer Research UK and the end-of-life charity, Marie Curie.

The 51-year-old is set to swim her own personal MySwimathon challenge, the world's largest annual fundraising swim, with her children, Esther, 9, and Josiah, 11, aiming to swim 500 lengths at Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre from 26-28 April.

Julie discovered a lump while breastfeeding and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 when her youngest child was just 5 months old.

Two years later after treatment and reconstruction, she found another lump in her breast, leading to more surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hospital stays and time away from her young children.

During this period, her family and her local church were very supportive.

God walks with us

Reflecting on her faith whilst having cancer, Julie thanked her medical staff and those around her for their support.

"The congregation have been fantastic and they basically journeyed through that with me," she said.

"The reality is that it was a really tough journey and there were times when I seriously questioned my faith and if it wasn't for other folks praying for me through that, I might not have held on to it.

"In the Gospel, Jesus asks the disciples if they will leave and Peter answers him, 'Where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life.'

"These became words that I held onto.

"After the second diagnosis I was really struggling and angry, asking 'why again?'

"I was really struck by how much darker it would be if I completely turned away from God.

"I thought to myself, 'I'm struggling here but I know that you've still got me.'

"There have been a number of times since then, while pastorally dealing with people through challenging times, that I've been able to say that 'I get it, know how dark it gets but you are not alone'.

"The truth is that God walks with us and sometimes you need to depend on the faith of others.

"As a congregation, there will be times when you are the strong one and other times when you will need those people around you.

"That is why community is so important."

Team effort

Julie hopes that sharing her story will encourage people in Scotland to get off the starting blocks and help support the charities close to her heart.

"Together with my children we are going to make a team effort to reach 500 lengths," she said.

"The most I have swam is about 130 lengths and my children do 100 lengths each.

"It will be a great challenge for us to dig a little deeper to go the extra distance.

"The great thing about the challenge is that it is so inclusive and welcomes different abilities.

"We have the time to take a break and eat a quick snack before getting back into the water to reach our goal."

Since it began in 1986, the Swimathon event has raised more than £55 million for charity.

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Scotland, Lisa Adams, said: "With nearly one in two people set to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, it's thanks to the generosity and commitment of supporters like Julie that we are able to fund the vital treatments of tomorrow."

Marie Curie's head of Fundraising, England, Jayne Waterhouse, added: "As Swimathon's charity partner, the funds that Marie Curie receives through this iconic challenge allow us to continue to support people with any illness they are likely to die from and those close to them."

You can support Julie's fundraiser or find out more here.