AN ABINGDON woman inspired by her mother's relentless positivity in the face of cancer is putting her best foot forward to support future research.

Michelle X, 49, struggles with mobility due to multiple sclerosis but is challenging herself to walk 10,000 steps a day throughout March for Cancer Research UK.

Her mother Patricia Gassner, a former accountant for Oxford University, died in 2012 having dealt with bladder, breast and lung cancer in the final decade of her life.

Ms X, who legally changed her surname after her divorce, said: "She was such a lovely, giving woman and fought it all the way through.

"She wore multi-coloured wigs every time she went to hospital for her chemo - a white one, a pink one and a blue one - and if she touched one heart, it was worth it.

"When I was diagnosed with MS in my early 20s she was devastated, but she inspired me to learn as much as I could and I know a positive attitude is really important."

Over the course of the next 30 days Ms X will use a Fitbit to track her attempts to walk 10,000 steps, double the amount she would normally attempt in a day.

She has been hauled before the courts in the past for using cannabis to quell the symptoms of her MS, a chronic disease that otherwise leaves her in constant pain.

She said: "Without my medication I can't walk. I have to have a frame and drag my legs along. Walking for me is a huge luxury many take for granted.

"This is absolutely an experiment. I'm trying to do 5,000 steps in the morning and after lunch; I don't have feeling in my legs so I do it entirely by muscle control."

People are invited to sponsor Ms X's efforts over the course of the month, with all funds raised going towards efforts to find new and innovative cures for cancer.

The former fitness instructor will be spending much of each day with her dogs in Albert Park, a single lap of which takes about 750 steps.

Friends have also pledged to join her in her efforts between now and March 31 in return for sponsorship.

She said: "I would like to raise as much as possible. There is no limit to how much Cancer Research UK needs, because it is a continued need."

For more information or to donate visit tinyurl.com/z8qxa5k