A woman who lost two sisters and her mother to cancer is to walk 100 miles over five days to raise funds for brain cancer research.

Maddy Burger lost her sister, Trudie, to brain cancer only six weeks after she had been diagnosed.

Originally from Durban, South Africa, Ms Burger moved to the island three years ago and now teaches English at Castle Rushen High School [CRHS]. She lost her mother to cancer in 2002 and so was actively involved with raising funds for the Cancer Association South Africa (CANSA).

In July last year, one of her sisters passed away from cancer and in October Trudie did too.

She will be walking between April 2 and 6 with her friend, Dani Staub, as well as pupils from CRHS, if the current lockdown doe not prevent the challenge being postponed until the next half term.

Ms Burger said: ’Because I’ve been proactively involved with raising funds for CANSA, I wanted to raise funds in the Isle of Man too.

’Me and Dani will walk along the Raad Ny Foillan raising funds for Cancer Research UK, with funds especially for brain cancer research. I’ve already had all of our goodies arriving from the charity such as T-shirts and banners and they’ve been really supportive.

’We started a fundraising page two weeks ago and we’ve already raised £480 and we’ve not even started walking yet. The people of the island have been so supportive, especially at Castle Rushen High School.’

She added, ’It’s very emotional. When I lived in South Africa in 2018, I didn’t realise that would be the last time I would see Trudie. She was only 60 when she passed away.

’The support has been incredible here - I love people in the Isle of Man, they’re all so supportive and friendly and it’s like having family here.’

Ms Burger said that due to her family being at risk of cancer, they get regular check-ups.

To donate, visit https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/trudie-van-buuren-1. There’s also an Instagram page: Cancerresearch100.