A WILTON mum whose young daughter is undergoing chemotherapy is preparing to lace up her trainers and run the London Marathon to help fund the search for “kinder” cancer treatments.

Chloe Beresford’s daughter Lola was just five years old when she was diagnosed with blood cancer in April 2023.

Lola has missed eight months of school while undergoing chemotherapy.

Chloe, 30, and her partner Matt, 38, have suffered a “huge blow” to their finances after taking time off work to support Lola through her treatment.

Now, Chloe is training to take on the marathon in April 2025 to raise money for Children with Cancer UK, a charity that works to increase awareness and understanding of cancer in children and young people and find kinder ways to treat them.

Children with Cancer UK funds research into kinder treatments Children with Cancer UK funds research into kinder treatments (Image: Chloe Beresford) Chloe, who used to live in Salisbury, said it would be an “understatement” to say Lola's diagnosis “flipped our world upside down” – but she's looking forward to taking on the challenge to help other families.

“It’s all so much to have to take on and watch such a small child go through,” she said.

“Watching the sheer amount of toxic medicine going into Lola's tiny body to rid her of this awful disease, I can’t help but want to raise money to fund research for kinder children’s cancer treatment.

“For the first six months of intense treatment, we felt as if we were solely running on adrenaline just getting through each day, hour or even minute at a time.

“It hits every part of your lives; routinely having to watch Lola be put under general anaesthetic for procedures, watching Lola’s hair fall out due to the chemotherapy, watching her put on extreme amounts of weight and her moods fluctuating due to the strong steroids, becoming responsible for Lola’s many daily medications at home; convincing Lola to do such big and scary things that even adults would be terrified at. 

“The treatment for children is long (two-and-a-half years) and is so harsh on their small bodies that many children are left with lifelong medical issues.

“Watching Lola go through such long chemotherapy so young makes me want to do everything I can to boost the funds going towards paediatric cancer research.”

Donate to Chloe's London Marathon fundraiser HERE. 

Read more: The incredible Salisbury people who completed the London Marathon

Chloe is feeling excited and nervous at the prospect of the race.

“It’s a huge amount of training to do in just 10 months, physically and mentally, but I feel very confident I will make it to the finish line,” she said.

“My fundraising goal is £2,000, but ideally, I would raise as much as I possibly can, so I won’t be stopping if I’m lucky enough to reach the goal.”

To donate to Chloe's marathon, visit 2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/chloe-beresford