A WOMAN who recently celebrated being cancer free is highlighting the positive power of swimming.

Roberta Greenslade celebrated the completion of her gruelling cancer treatment with a swim in the sea at Lyme Regis.

Mrs Greenslade, who lives in Taunton but spends most of her weekends in Lyme, had her life-long love of swimming put on hold after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018.

Mrs Greenslade, 87, a mother-of-two with five grandchildren and three great grandchildren, was referred to hospital where she had a mastectomy, followed by radiotherapy treatment.

She said: “One of my breasts felt a bit odd. I didn’t think it was a lump. It was rather a large swelling which felt far too big to be a lump.

“That confused me as I thought it was small lumps we should look out for, more like a bean."

“I couldn’t swim during my treatment all that summer until I had heeled. I swam again at the first opportunity after my treatment had finished. I couldn’t wait to get back in the water."

Mrs Greenslade's son, Malcolm, runs Lyme Bay Swimming where he is a Swim England Open Water Swimming Coach. Malcolm's son, Ben, and daughter, Abi, are both lifeguards, so swimming clearly runs in the family.

Mrs Greenslade now wants to highlight the positive power of swimming by urging people to sign up for the Swimathon Festival 2021.

After a challenging year for many swimmers who missed out during the pandemic, swimmers are being urged to swim 5 kilometre this autumn in the world’s largest annual swimming fundraiser to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie.

The Swimathon Festival takes place from Friday, September 10 until Sunday, September 12. The initiative has raised more than £55m for charities since its inception in 1986. This year the Swimathon Foundation will donate £2.50 from every entry fee to help protect Swimathon pools and venues for the future, following the impact of the pandemic.

People can participate individually or as part of a team and those who can’t make one of the organised sessions can choose a time and venue that suits them and participate between Monday, September 13 and Sunday, September 19.

To sign up to the 2021 Swimathon Festival visit www.swimathon.org