A CAMPAIGN to help a mother get life-extending cancer treatment has had support from the other side of the world.

Sarah Dawson completed the Sydney Marathon on September 15 in aid of the Hope for Gemma campaign, finishing in a time of 4 hours and 37 minutes.

The family of mother-of-three Gemma Kent, from Tadley, needs to raise £90,000 to pay for life-extending treatment for her liver and pancreatic cancer, which takes up to six months, to cover getting to and staying in Turkey and follow-up care.

Sarah, Gemma’s cousin, said: “I decided that I really wanted to do something to help Gemma and raise money, I started researching and saw the marathon was in 15 weeks.

“It was tight on timings as normally people train for about 20 weeks but I was determined to do it and made sure I trained as much as I could.”

Through Sarah’s efforts, an extra 4,000 Australian dollars has been added to the total.

The 28-year-old marketing manager, who has lived in Australia for the past two years, added: “I had an emotional Facetime with Gemma before the race and my family all filmed videos which I watched when I was struggling and they gave me a huge boost. What really got me through was thinking about Gemma and everything she’s going through.”

Sarah’s sister Hayley Dawson has also got involved in fundraising, walking 50km for the Thames challenge on September 8.

The treatment in Turkey is a mixture of chemo with a diet, oxygenation of the blood and extreme heat.

It is hoped Gemma can undergo the treatment and have her life extended while more research is done for cures.

Gemma is now on her third dose of the specialist treatment after returning to Istanbul last week.

The campaign has so far raised more than £66,000 of the £90,000 target.

To follow the campaign, search for @HopeForGemma on Facebook and to donate, go to gofundme.com/hope-for-gemma.