A Marlow woman who lost both her husband and mum to cancer is taking on a gruelling cycle challenge to raise money for the hospital which provided “amazing help” in the toughest of moments.

Alyona Hester, who works for NFU Mutual Marlow, is hoping to raise almost £2,000 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity by cycling from London to Paris in June.

The 41-year-old will ride from Thursday, June 20, to Sunday, June 23, looking to tackle around 60 miles [roughly five hours] a day before arriving at her destination – the Eiffel Tower, in the French capital.

Alyona is getting on the saddle in memory of her husband, Toby, who was an avid cyclist and sadly lost his battle with cancer in 2019.

Cruelly, Alyona’s Mum also died two years later after suffering with the disease.

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, a world-leading cancer centre, helping to fund the hospital’s life-saving research, treatment and care and state-of-the-art patient equipment.

“The Royal Marsden were just so helpful,” said Alyona.

“They were amazing, and we received the most amazing help from them when my husband was undergoing treatment and when my mum went to her appointments.

“My husband used to get so much support from them, and I wanted to give something back for everything they did.

“This was not something I was planning to do, but it came to me in the moment, and I thought ‘Why don’t I do something I’ve not done before and raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity while doing so?’”

Alyona first started to get into cycling when she moved to the UK from Ukraine 10 years ago.

She is looking to raise £1,800 in her charity challenge and has the backing of her employer, NFU Mutual – where she has been working since December 2022 – who has contributed to the overall total.

It won’t be the first time the marketing executive has raised funds for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity – in 2017 a charity ball was hosted which raised £10,000 and, as Alyona put it, she wanted to “keep the tradition going”.

Training has been going strong since the back end of 2023 and was stepped up from two days a week to almost every day since the turn of the year.

While undertaking the cycle for The Royal Marsden, Alyona has another special someone she is doing it for – her seven-year-old daughter, Annabelle.

“She is a miracle,” said Alyona.

“She has got so much passion, so much life and looks just like my husband. I want her to be happy and for her to feel that I am happy.

“I want to be a role model for her, and this [cycle] is something that her dad did that I would love to do. I just want to show my best for her.”

To donate to Alyona’s charity ride, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alyona-Hester-1