Inspirational Ayrshire cancer survivor 'thankful' for honour of starting Race for Life

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An inspirational Ayrshire woman who overcame breast cancer has shared her pride after being given the honour of setting thousands of participants on their journey at this year’s Cancer Research UK’s 10k Race for Life in Glasgow.Aileen Rourke, from Drongan, was chosen as the special guest starter at the 10k Race for Life, helping droves of inspirational fundraisers put their best foot forward on their Race for Life journeys from Glasgow Green on Sunday.The 51-year-old overcame breast cancer following treatment after discovering a lump in her breast in 2022.Aileen, who works as a District General Manager at SP Energy Networks, part of the ScottishPower group, is now sharing her story to raise awareness of the importance of regularly checking for lumps and paying attention to any possible symptoms.Aileen said: “Cancer is such a devastating disease and impacts so many of us.

Like many of us, I’ve lost friends and family to it but for some reason, you can feel like it wouldn’t happen to you.“Last year, I found a lump in my breast and went to get it checked out right away.

It was thanks to the early diagnosis and treatment that I was fortunate enough to eventually get the all-clear.“But it’s such an eye opener and the treatment is physically and mentally gruelling at times.”Aileen said her employer has been “amazing throughout” and praised ScottishPower and Cancer Research UK’s partnership, which has raised more than £35 million since it started in 2012.She added: “The work ScottishPower does to raise money for Cancer Research UK is incredible and will help us to beat cancer sooner.“Having the privilege of starting this year’s 10k Race for Life was amazing and I’m so thankful to both ScottishPower and Cancer Research UK for