Family and friends raise thousands in memory of Warminster woman

More than £7,000 has been raised by a group of Warminster family and friends in memory of a local woman who died from a rare form of cancer.

Kelly Allardice died in 2021 aged 42 after being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer affecting the bile ducts.

Since her death, Kelly’s family and friends have completed two fundraising walks for AMMF, a charity dedicated to raising awareness of and funding research into cholangiocarcinoma.

 

1 of 4

- +

Their first challenge took place in March 2022, a year after Kelly’s death, with the group walking 26 miles from Durdle Door to Studland and raising £5,100.

This month, marking five years since Kelly’s death, the group completed a second walk from Hilperton to Victoria Park in Bath, raising a further £2,545.

Kelly’s cousin Lisa Conduit said, “When Kelly passed away it was unexpected. She hadn’t been ill for very long. She went to the doctors a few times and was told she had IBS. She got told she had been on a bit of a silly diet, that had affected her digestive system.

“After a couple of months she was diagnosed with cancer, a form of cancer which none of us had ever heard of. She left behind her two sons, it was horrible.”

The distance of the first walk was chosen to mark Kelly’s age when she died, with the group originally planning to walk 42 miles before reducing the distance to 42 kilometres.

Lisa said the latest challenge was 13 miles, chosen because of Kelly’s birthday being 13th April.

She said, “The weather was a bit unpleasant but we were all in good spirits. We all survived and met family and friends at the end for tea and cake.

“We do these challenges to honour Kelly and keep her memory alive and we do as much as we can to raise awareness of this cancer. Some of the symptoms are very easily misdiagnosed for less concerning things.”

The group, made up of Kelly’s cousins, brother, sister and friends, is considering taking on another fundraising challenge in the future.

Lisa said the fundraising also gave the family and friends an opportunity to spend time together while remembering Kelly.

She added, “It was a really nice way for us to actually hang out and do something positive.”

To help the group raise funds for AMMF, visit their fundraising page https://www.justgiving.com/page/walkforkelly