A TORQUAY cancer survivor is taking part in a charity challenge in July, walking along the South West Coast Path.

Cancer patient Debbie Lewis, from Upton, will be taking part in a 60-mile charity walk for five days despite having had a tumour removed from leg muscles.

Debbie will be raising funds for The Sarcoma Trust along a Cornish section of the path on Monday, July 19.

She was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer which affects connective tissue — bone, muscle, nerves, fatty tissue, cartilage — in 2003.

She underwent surgery to remove the tumour inside a leg muscle, then battled through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and further surgery in 2006 and 2009 to remove secondary tumours from her lungs.

She said: " This will be a challenge for me as the muscle they removed is the one we use to lift our foot up. So I have to use toe muscles to do this."

Her husband Brian has recently been made fundraising manager for The Sarcoma Trust and decided to start his new job by leading a fundraising challenge event himself.

He said: "I created Sixty Miles For Sarcoma. Debbie decided that she was going to join me on the walk, along with her sister Janine Clarke and her partner Chris Wright.

"Other sarcoma patients will also join us."

They have been training by walking along the coast path in South Devon.

The walk is taking place during the International Sarcoma Awareness Week.

The team can be sponsored at www.justgiving.com/sixtymiles forsarcoma