Bedford mum who was inspired by champion racehorse overcomes hurdles to beat cancer

A Bedford mother-of-three celebrated a double victory after she found out she had beaten breast cancer around the same time her racehorse won the Scottish Grand National.

Diana Noel – who co-owns Kitty’s Light – said watching his form improve while she was going through her own treatment, inspired her to believe anything was possible.

The thoroughbred is now tipped to win the next Grand National at Aintree, but before that, Diana, 64, is heading to a different start-line to launch Race for Life Bedford on July 29 and 30.

The accountant from Willington will fire the starting klaxon for the 5k event at Priory Park, in Barkers Lane, on July 30 as thousands of people prepare to race in aid of life-saving research.

While Diana was following her horse’s historic rise to success under trainer Christian William, she was suddenly forced to overcome her own hurdles when she was invited to a mammogram.

She said: “When I received the letter last year to arrange my breast screening appointment, it took me almost 30 calls to get through and book it. It could have been so easy just to give up and wait another two years for the next reminder, but something told me I had to keep calling.

“When I eventually got through and had my screening, it felt more like a box-ticking process and that I’d be done for the next couple of years and could forget all about it.

“When I opened the letter from the hospital a couple of weeks later saying they wanted to check things further I was taken aback and thought, ‘hang on a minute, what does this say?’

“I went back to the next appointment with my husband, Clive, where I had another mammogram, an ultrasound and then a biopsy and I could tell by the way the consultant was talking that it must be serious.

“I was at the hairdressers when I received a call to confirm that it was breast cancer and as I was almost expecting that to be the outcome by then, I carried on having my hair done and then went home and told Clive.

“I wanted my children, Richard, 40, Georgie, 35 and Edward, 30, to know I was fine as I didn’t want them to worry. But when I had private moments I would think, ‘oh my goodness, I’ve got cancer’ and my head would go to crazy places.

“Before my treatment began, my racehorse was due to run at Ayr and it helped to take my mind off what was going on as he came through in second place.

“A few days later, I had the lump removed and they also took some lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread. Thankfully it hadn’t and after some time to heal, the next step was radiotherapy.

“The treatment was incredibly exhausting but effective and there’s no evidence of cancer now.

“In April this year, we returned to Ayr to watch Kitty’s Light again and then he went and won the race. I was an emotional wreck as it felt like his victory symbolised a double win for both of us.

“Now, I feel I can look to the future again but it could have been different if I hadn’t kept calling to make sure I booked my mammogram appointment.

“We are lucky to be offered a service that is free that can save your life.”

Race for Life Bedford – on July 29 and 30 – is at Priory Park and is open to people of all ages and abilities.You can choose from 3k, 5k and 10k events.

There is also Pretty Muddy – a mud-splattered obstacle course - and there’s a Pretty Muddy Kids option.  

Visit here to enter Race For Life Bedford