A personal break through

At times, when I was lying on my hospital bed being pumped full of chemotherapy drugs that made me as sick as a dog and caused my hair to fall out, I used to close my eyes and dream I was somewhere else.

Maybe on a deserted beach in the Caribbean, on the top of a mountain in the Himalayas or on safari in Africa.

Anywhere was better than the regular trips to Southampton's Royal South Hants Hospital for seven months of misery, especially knowing it was going to be followed by 25 shots of radiotherapy.

My breast cancer was finally diagnosed in 2001 after scares with a couple of lumps the previous year. The illness followed a traumatic period in my life that included the loss of my husband in 1999.

With the support of my family and friends, I finished my treatment and I went back to work and carried on with life. But there was something missing - something was not quite right.

If all had gone well with my treatment, things could carry on as normal - I had stared death in the face and, thankfully, he had blinked and walked away.

It took a chance glance at a newspaper advert to make me realise that it was time to put something back into life.

I knew I wanted to see more of the world and walking part of the Great Wall of China for Breakthrough Breast Cancer became my aim.

Unfortunately the outbreak of SARS meant the challenge was called off, but I joined a group of ten women - which included my sister Maxine Coleman and actress Josie Lawrence - and headed for Cuba for a 14-day adventure.

I needed to do something to change my life around and this was the opportunity to, hopefully in some small way, make a difference to someone else's life.

But I soon found out that the dreamy world I used to transport myself into as I waited for the chemo needle to be pulled out of my arm was not quite the real one.

When they said we were off to Cuba I imagined us ambling through fields and past coffee plantations.

Wrong. Intense heat and humidity, coupled with painful swollen feet which was a side effect of surgery, meant I could complete only four of the gruelling seven days walking.

But I put my best foot forward a year to the day that my chemotherapy finished and I still managed to raise £2,500 for the charity.

They say that good often comes from bad and the last two years for me have proved it. But this is not the end. There is a long way to go before a cure for this horrible disease can be found and there are plenty of challenges and terrain around the world to be conquered - and much money to be raised.

There are so many things on this planet that I want to see. I don't want to die young. I want to swim with dolphins and see so many places.

Day 1

My sister Maxine and I flew from Heathrow to Madrid and arrived in Havana after 11 hours.

We were met at the airport by actress Josie Lawrence and expedition leader Sian Everingham.

The heat was unbelievable so a thirst-quenching Mohita - a Cuban cocktail of rum lemon mint and water was a welcome sight at the hotel.

Day 2

After a hot sleepless night, we had breakfast of Cuban fruit, bread and strong coffee before Omelia, our guide for the two-week adventure, took us into Havana sightseeing.

It was like going back in time with all the vintage American cars from the 1950s and old buildings.

Lunch was in a typical Cuban restaurant and consisted of fruit, rice and chicken. This was the main basis of our diet during our stay in Cuba with an odd wild pig every now and then - just for a change!.

From there we boarded a mini bus and headed for Vinales Valley for our trek.

Our accommodation changed from a plush hotel to wooden huts on stilts - but they did have proper beds. The area was called Pino Del Rio and it was stunning.

Day 3

A 6am start with humidity at 86 per cent.

We met up with our four guides Manuel, Derek, Enrique and Cocoa.

We filled our water bottles and took the first steps on our adventure - a 15km trek through Vinales Valley.

It was like walking in a sauna but we eventually arrived at the base of The Mogotes. These are from the Jurassic period 16 million years old like mountains but with no peaks.

We later arrived at Camp Ancon where Fidel Castro stayed during the revolution in the 1950s. They still have a shrine there to him, and photos of him and Che Guevara are still on the wall.

I dipped out of dinner after suffering heat exhaustion. Eventually got off to sleep amid the jungle noises.

Day 4

Didn't walk today. Still sick so I stayed with Omelio and transferred all the gear by a World War II jeep to the next destination of Vega De Los Mirandas.

We were greeted by Cocoa's family who own the land and the coffee plantation.

What wonderful people. They have nothing but are happy and make you feel so welcome. The house was made of timber and leaves with no running water or electricity.

Today was Josie's birthday so we decorated the trees and partied with Cocoa's family. We danced the salsa in the jungle by torchlight.

Day 5

Another 6am start and things got harder today. We walked three miles before starting a climb up and over one of the Mogotes. The heat was unbearable.

At the end we were taken by bus to a ranch where we stayed the night. Hot water and real beds were pure bliss.

That evening we partied with our guides who were leaving us in the morning.

Day 6

We transferred to our next trek in the Escambry Mountains.

My feet had swollen to twice their normal size so I tried to keep them up to keep the swelling down, but I had badly sprained one of my ankles when I slipped over and I had also cracked a bone in my foot.

We arrived at Hanabanilla Lake in the afternoon - the only hotel in Cuba where tourists and Cubans are allowed to mix.

Day 7

Awoke to painful feet, so took it easy and helped load the boat with all our kit.

It took 45 minutes to cross the largest man-made reservoir in Cuba and we met the others. We climbed up through a track in the jungle which opened up into a clearing where there was a restaurant. It was stunning.

We all crossed the other side of the lake and met our next form of transport - a 'Russian limousine'. As we sat on the wooden slats in the back, I thought we looked like the women in Tenko.

About 45 minutes later we arrived at the Campisino and put our walking boots on for an afternoon's trek to the waterfalls.

Day 8

Mosquitoes kept us awake most of the night so we had an early break and set off in our 'limo' to the Hacienda Codina, our next camp.

Everything was soaking wet from the waterfall trek so I managed to get a washing line set up to dry our clothes.

My feet were huge by now and I couldn't get my boots on. I had a siesta.

Day 9

We packed the kit up and loaded it onto the lorry for our next destination over the Escambry Mountains to the small community of Topes De Collantes which we reached after midday .

We stayed in a hotel that had rooms laid out like chalets in among the trees. There were real beds and hot water.

Our restaurant table was an enormous curved stone and we sat on rock seats among the Maraca trees.

Day 10

The final leg of our journey was now in front of us: 21km to Trinidad which is on the coast of the Caribbean.

Because of the problems with my swollen feet I went with Omelia in the 'limo' to our final destination - an all inclusive hotel where we spent our last two nights.

When the others arrived we had a swim in the sea. It was like a warm bath. Then we indulged ourselves with one or two pina coladas.

My sister Maxine had walked every part of the way which was impressive, considering she had major hip surgery only two years earlier.

Day 11

After breakfast I went with Omelia and Sian to a clinic. I had sprained my ankle, cracked a bone in my foot and had a major problem with my lymph nodes not draining the fluid away, but apart from that, everything was hunky dory!

Day 12

We said our farewells to Josie, Sian and Michelle who were all going on to Peru. Sandy stayed an extra two days in Havana before leaving.

It was very emotional and we didn't want to leave. We had all been through so much: we had laughed, cried and sang together.

We have all kept in touch and are having a reunion soon. We are also trying to organise another trek for next year, possibly to Tanzania to follow in the footsteps of the Masai warriors.