A MUM-TO-BE is taking part in the Race for Life on Sunday for the third time as she looks forward to a new arrival.

Just two days after the charity run last year, 34-year-old Kerry Vanhoven was told the devastating news her beloved husband had developed cancer in his blood vessels.

It was a shocking blow for the couple, as Alan, 39, had only recently been given the all-clear from testicular cancer.

He was forced to undergo intensive chemotherapy at Barts Hospital, east London, but the couple, from Chadwell St Mary, were given a welcome boost when Mrs Vanhoven discovered she was pregnant with their first child. Doctors had told them it was very unlikely Mr Vanhoven would be able to conceive after he had a testicle removed.

This year, Mrs Vanhoven will complete the Race for Life with her bump in tow, and plans to proudly wear a specially-made T-shirt with “Bumping for Daddy” on it.

She said: “This time, it is very important to me. Just days after the Race for Life last year we went back to get Alan’s latest results, only to be told he had another type of cancer. It came totally out of the blue.

“It was a big surprise when we found out I was pregnant.

We had even frozen some sperm because we didn’t think it would happen naturally.

“The first time I took part in the Race for Life I was quite a large lady, so I’m not really worried about doing it while I’m pregnant.”

Mr Vanhoven is now in remission fom non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.

His wife will take on the Race for Life, taking place at Basildon’s Gloucester Park tomorrow, with a group of women from her slimming class.

Mrs Vanhoven became a weightloss instructor after dropping an impressive eight stone in just two years, reducing her weight from 20 stone to 12 stone.

She is due to give birth to a boy in October, just days after her husband’s 40th birthday.

- TUESDAY'S ECHO WILL INCLUDE A PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT OF PICTURES FROM BASILDON'S RACE FOR LIFE EVENT