Finance director Hazel puts on her trainers and a bra to celebrate charity milestones and say thank you at The MoonWalk London

Thousands of walkers descended on London Saturday night to raise money under the May moonlight for breast cancer causes – including our one and only Hazel Sweeney.

Finance Director Hazel was one of around 6,000 moonwalkers wearing glitzy costumes and donning the trademark bras of organising charity Walk the Walk as the original MoonWalk celebrated its 25^th anniversary.

Joining in the party atmosphere under the stars, Hazel put on her trainers and her designer birthday bra to say thank you, celebrate the event’s quarter of century and raise awareness of breast cancer. Her marathon effort also raised £800 for Walk the Walk from generous donations given by her supporters.

Charities, including Tenovus Cancer Care, have been able to treat and support people affected by breast cancer because of almost £140 million raised by the MoonWalk since it started in1998.

We share the same vision as grant-awarding charity Walk the Walk in reaching people with breast cancer and providing advanced treatment closer to home. Grant funding totalling £800,000 awarded to us by the charity over the past decade has contributed to the build of our second and third Mobile Support Units, as well as supply a scalp cooler for people undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Moonwalkers can either walk a Full Moon (26.2 miles) or a Half Moon (15.1m) as a team or solo. Starting at Clapham Common the course winds its way past London sites including Tower Bridge and the Albert Hall.

Walking the Full Moon (26.3 miles) solo, Hazel said: “It was great to walk alongside so many like-minded people raising money for charity. There was an electric atmosphere going on.

So many people were taking part, you just had to go with them, and walk at the collective pace. It took me about seven and three-quarter hours, which is not bad considering we were walking!

The MoonWalk is celebrating its quarter of a century the same year as Tenovus Cancer Care is celebrating its 80^th - it seemed fitting to walk it this year and wear a special bra celebrating both big birthdays.”

“My feet have been in shreds training in the run up to the event. I now have blisters upon blisters, but this is my way of saying thank you to Walk the Walk, for all the support we’ve received over the years.

“Grant funding has helped us to bring breast cancer treatments closer to home in the warm and welcoming hospital style surroundings of our Mobile Support Units. But we couldn’t do that without our partners. We also could not attend events without the support of our loyal volunteers. We are massively grateful to them for making the journey up and down the M4 this weekend.”

Event volunteer Angela Powell, 72, from Abergavenny said: “This is about the third or fourth time I have volunteered at the MoonWalk. It’s so much fun, and I love the bright costumes the walker’s wear. I was out on the course encouraging those taking part, and making sure they were safe. I love volunteering – giving something back - and this event is always an absolute joy to be part of.”

Our Mobile Support Unit facilitated 2,535 cancer treatments in 2021-22. That year, seven men and 537 women died of breast cancer in Wales. Early diagnosis is key for successful treatment. For more information about signs and symptoms of breast cancer read here. 

Walk the Walk’s Founder and Chief Executive Nina Barough created The MoonWalk London in 1998. It was truly ground-breaking and back then was the first ever mass fundraising event for walkers. Nina has developed the MoonWalk brand further, in Scotland (from 2006) and in Iceland (from 2011).

The money raised through all Walk the Walk’s events is then granted to charities like Tenovus Cancer Care, to help provide emotional and physical support for people living with cancer. To find out more about Walk the Walk and the amazing work it does, go to www.walkthewalk.org”