A Brecon woman living with stage 4 lung cancer is taking on a swimming challenge this June in a bid to raise money and awareness for others affected by the disease.

Beverley Mills will be taking part in the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation’s “Swimming the Distance” challenge, which encourages people to swim a distance of their choice throughout the month while raising funds for support services, research and awareness.

Beverley said she wanted to turn something difficult into something that could help others.

“I want to do something positive with my diagnosis and help raise awareness and vital funds,” she said.

Her challenge will see her aiming to swim and walk a mile over the course of June.

Beverley was diagnosed shortly before Christmas, a moment her husband Paul describes as changing their family life overnight.

He recalled how the news landed on them, saying the “life we knew had been quietly removed and replaced with one that looked the same from the outside, but was completely different inside”.

Since then, Beverley has undergone treatment including immunotherapy, and continues to live with the uncertainty that comes with advanced cancer. But those close to her say she has remained determined to stay active and focused on others as well as her

Paul, a former nurse who worked on a palliative care unit, said the experience has shown him how much of cancer is fought not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.

He said the family had encouraged Beverley to keep moving and keep setting goals as a way of holding on to structure in daily life.

“Beverley has never been a weak woman,” he said.

“Some people may have mistaken her kindness for softness, or her patience for surrender. Some may have thought she was a doormat. We never did. Her family knows the truth. Even at her most unwell, she still calls the shots in her own life. She is stubborn, funny, fierce, and entirely herself.”

The couple completed a fundraising walk earlier this year, which they say gave Beverley a sense of purpose and momentum at a time when much felt uncertain.

There was also positive news more recently.

Paul explained: “Recently, when we heard that her lung had re-inflated, and that the treatment, positivity, courage, movement, and determination were working, it gave something back to us.”

Beverley’s motivation also comes from supporting others facing lung cancer.

“She thinks about other patients. Other families. Other husbands and wives. Other children sitting in hospital rooms, trying to be brave while their whole world is shaking,” said Paul.

“She wants to fight for those who cannot. That says everything about her.”

Lung cancer remains the UK’s biggest cancer killer, although survival rates are improving thanks to earlier diagnosis and new treatments. The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only UK charity dedicated solely to supporting those affected, offering emotional and practical help as well as funding research and campaigning for better outcomes.

Beverley’s challenge can be supported at: www.facebook.com/donate/998724269346182