The family of a young West Belfast mother who died of cancer just months after she was married are set to walk 50 miles to mark her 40th birthday.
Sharon Conley from the Falls Road died in November following multiple battles with the disease.
Now, her husband Stephen along with her family and friends are setting off on a 50 mile walk to raise much needed funds for the Northern Ireland Hospice who cared for her as her illness progressed.
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"We got married in Carlingford back in April last year and it was Sharon's favourite place in Ireland," Stephen told Belfast Live.
"We used to work together years ago and that's how we met.
"At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer and had her treatment.
"She got the all clear and was clear for about four months when it came back in January 2021."
Sharon's second bout of cancer was more aggressive and this time, it was in her liver.
She underwent a second round of treatment when she heard about an alternative therapy in Mexico which she underwent over a period of four weeks.
Stephen told us that when Sharon returned from Mexico she was given the all clear again only for her cancer to return for a third time six months later.
"In the run up to the wedding last year, it had started to creep back again and we decided to raise as much money as possible to try and get her back to Mexico," Stephen added.
"She had raised money to go to Mexico for the first round of alternative treatments and when she was offered the chance to go again last year, myself and a few friends had decided to walk to Carlingford to raise money and we raised a really good amount.
"By the time it came to the summer, things had progressed too much with Sharon and travelling was out of the question."
Stephen said that following Sharon's death, the group decided that they would do the walk again to raise money for the Hospice where Sharon spent her final days.
"They do an absoultely incredible job and we decided that we would do the walk to coincide with what would have been Sharon's 40th birthday," he added.
"We had five people doing the walk last year, this year we have 15 and already the sponsorship money is double what we raised last year and we haven't done the walk yet.
"We will leave our café Foggy Brew on 30th June and walk to the Bannville Hotel in Banbridge who are sponsoring us and putting us all up for the night.
"The next morning we will walk from Banbridge to Carlingford where Ma Bakers bar have set aside a section for us and they will be having a finish line when we complete the walk."
To donate to the fund in memory of Sharon, click here .
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