84 Year Old Ripcord Rosa With Terminal Cancer Taking 'One Last Leap'

LONDON, October 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Rosa Kingston, an 84 year old great grandmother from Hertfordshire, who has just been told she has a few months to live, is planning to leap out of a plane in mid-October to raise funds for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Rosa has been a patient of The Royal Marsden since being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2013. It is the second most common gynecological cancer and the survival rate is still low. There are approximately 7,000 women diagnosed every year in the UK alone, and fewer than 43 per cent survive after five years compared with 87 per cent with breast cancer after five years in England and Wales. Experts say this is partly because the majority of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed only when patients have symptoms when the cancer has spread.

Rosa, who has inspirational spirit, is so impressed with the excellent standard of care she has received from the medical team at The Royal Marsden, when they told her she has only months to live she decided to do a fundraising sky dive. She is passionate about raising funds to help improve the chances of other women surviving this disease; despite the fact that she herself is dying.

"The Royal Marsden has extended my life by two years. In that time I have experienced much joy including seeing my grandson get married, my granddaughter have her first baby, making me a great grandmother, my Australian granddaughter and grandson graduate from university and my daughter getting engaged to be married. Words cannot say how grateful I am. It's been a wonderful gift from Professor Gore and his team and all the staff at The Royal Marsden. Despite the fact that I would normally be scared stiff to dive from a plane, I plan to take one last leap because I can!  I'm really excited about the dive and hope I raise sufficient funds to help future research for this terminal illness to really make a difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of other women long after I am gone", said Rosa.

The Sky Dive takes place at Hinton Sky Diving Centre, Steane, Brackley, Northants, on Wednesday 14 October. To support Rosa and make a donation please go to http://www.justgiving.com/Rosa-Kingston/. Follow Rosa's journey on Twitter @RipcordRosa and like Ripcord Rosa on Facebook.

Note to Editors 

1. Cancer Research UK http://www.cancerresearchuk.org - accessed October 2015. Target Ovarian Cancer Pathfinder Study 2012.  Ipsos Mori, 15.1.2014

2. Rosa Kingston has been a member of the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons for 42 years which has raised funds for various charities and her current title is Very Worshipful Brother Rosa Kingston, Past Grand Treasurer.

3. One of her daughters is Maryon Stewart, the UK wellness expert, author and broadcaster.

4. The sky dive is taking place at Hinton Sky Diving Centre, Steane, Brackley, Northants, NN13 5NS.

5. For more information or to organise an interview with Rosa please call Sue Fisher on+44-(0)7768-181155  or Maryon Stewart on +44-(0)7973-713139 or email sue-fisher@bigpond.com or maryon@maryonstewart.com

SOURCE The Really Useful Health Company