LOSING your husband to cancer is a devastating blow for any wife – but for one special Dunmow lady the tragedy has given her a real energy to achieve something special. Rita Punt s husband John died from prostate cancer two years ago after a three-year ba

LOSING your husband to cancer is a devastating blow for any wife - but for one special Dunmow lady the tragedy has given her a real energy to achieve something special.

Rita Punt's husband John died from prostate cancer two years ago after a three-year battle with the disease.

During the last few years together, the couple spent a lot of time with Farleigh Hospice, and now Rita wants to pay them back for their help - by trekking around Cambodia in February next year.

Rita, 64, of Springfields, said: "The hospice was amazing, the help they give people is incredible so I wanted to give something back.

"John was a very adventurous man so I wanted to do him justice by setting myself a difficult but achievable goal. This trek will be hard for me but I know I can get through it. Because of John I believe I can do anything."

The 400km trek starts out on January 30, when a team of around 20 trekkers leaves the UK for Bangkok, this will be followed by a transfer to the starting point at Siem Reap.

Most of it will take place in the rainforests and the sacred Phnom Kulen mountains surrounding Siem Reap, a province in northeast Cambodia on the shores of the massive Tonle Sap freshwater lake and the gateway to the famous temple at Angkor Wat.

Rita, who worked for 30 years at the Angel Lane surgery in Dunmow, added: "I am very excited about it and will going into the trek with no fears at all, I want to raise as much money as I can for the hospice to say thank you for their help.

"I am training two to three times a week at the Flitch gym who are helping me with a program that will make sure I am ready for hiking."

A minimum amount of �300 has to be raised for her trip but she hopes to eclipse that by the time the trek comes around.

Anyone who wants to sponsor her or donate money can do so by popping into the Yogi Pharmacy in Market Place, Great Dunmow during business hours.

Give us your views or give Rita some encouragement - e-mail us at editor@dunmow-broadcast.co.uk, or write to us at 54 High Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1EE.

Sponsor Rita by popping into the Yogi Pharmacy in Market Place, Great Dunmow