A St Ives woman walked through the town centre covered head to toe in glitter to raise vital funds for two charities.
Kate Pistilli, 33, who is eight months pregnant and has breast cancer, wanted to raise money for the charities who have helped her through her difficult time.
She has raised a whopping £4,785.23 so far on her Virgin JustGiving page, for Hunts Community Cancer Network (HCCN) and Mummy’s Star.
People from St Ives gathered in the town centre on Saturday (August 8) and cheered whilst Kate was on her walk and she felt overwhelmed with the response.
She said: “I feel so overwhelmed, even though I have the cancer diagnosis, I feel really happy that I have managed to raise all this support and awareness and such an important message.
“I can’t believe it, I feel so loved and so special and I am really grateful to everyone for everything.
“It took me about an hour to cover myself in glitter and four girlfriends to help me.
“I literally lied on the floor whilst they poured it over me.”
Kate was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015, when she was just 28-years-old after enduring IVF treatment, a double mastectomy, reconstruction and five months of chemotherapy.
Nine months after her daughter was born, Kate fell pregnant again in December 2019 and to her disbelief the cancer returned in April 2020
Kate said: “I have seen on my walk today, a few nurses and consultants that were supporting me on my first diagnosis, so that’s made me feel quite emotional today.”
In a previous interview Kate explained how she felt cheated by not being able to enjoy her second pregnancy.
Kate said: “When I was told it had returned, I couldn’t believe it and feel cheated out of the luxury of being able to enjoy my pregnancy without the worry or stress of cancer looming over me.
“Going through cancer is one of the loneliest things to experience - even with endless love and support from family and friends - and it is even more isolating going through it whilst pregnant.”
She explained how she came up with the idea of covering herself in glitter, she said: “I wanted to combine this desire with my belief that you can cover anything in glitter and make it better, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
To donate visit Kate’s fundraising page: www.virginmoneygiving.com/KatePistilli
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