Tenby adventurer Rosie Swale Pope has had a health scare. The 60-year-old grandmother is to undergo a biopsy this month after a mammogram discovered a very small suspect lump in her breast. An initial lump Rosie discovered proved to be harmless, but the scan discovered a second area for concern. Currently making her way across the state of Indiana, on her round the world trek on two feet, Rosie, who left her home on her 57th birthday in October 2003, has decided to make her condition public because she is taking part in her epic trek to raise cancer awareness, following the death of her husband Clive to prostate cancer and to encourage people to see their doctor early if they have any concerns. Said Rosie in a message on her website: "My problem is very, very, very slight. Even if I do have to get the lump removed, it is so very minor, I'll only be off the run for a few weeks, but if I waited until I get home, then the problem would have had time to get worse. "So I say to you all, I'm sure I'm fine, but it has been put even more clearly in my mind that this is a reminder, and it is an opportunity to shout, shout, shout to everyone, please get your body check up. Do not be afraid to go for mammograms, prostate checks and other kinds of cancer MOTs. Life is so precious." Last month, Rosie took time out from her trip to take part in the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. She suffered problems with cramp and had to take it easy, but still managed to complete the 26.2 mile run in five hours 40 minutes. Rosie said the marathon was for 'fun' and was to thank her dentist, Dr. Jay Jorgenson, of Park Rapids, who had 'saved her teeth' doing a lot of work to repair her damaged teeth, and everyone else she had met and who had helped her. It was 'heaven' Rosie said, running without being strapped to her 250-pound mobile home! Rosie's family recently caught up with her at her daughter Eve's wedding in Ireland, which Rosie had flown over from Chicago to attend. Rosie had initially promised to finish her world run to be back in time for the wedding, but this was not possible due to the run taking longer than expected due to difficult travelling conditions and things like getting frostbite. "I really enjoyed seeing her," said James on the website. "It has been a year since I last saw her in Alaska, and it was really nice to catch up and discuss her route and various issues about the homeward straight of her world run." Rosie was only in Ireland for a few days and is now back in Illinois continuing on her trek. Rosie, who has already clocked up around 21,000 miles, has crossed Holland, Germany, Poland, Russia and Alaska. And her journey has not been without its setbacks. She was confronted by a stark naked man wielding a gun in the Russian forest. She had to be rescued by the Alaska Air Guards and was airlifted from blizzard-like conditions on Henry Island in the Yukon River due to severe frostbite in her toes. A shortwhile after her recovery, she also suffered from a bad fall and cracked a rib.
