An 81-year-old great-grandmother has raised more than £1,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by walking 11,000 steps a day in memory of her late husband.

Despite suffering from osteoporosis in her spine and never being a keen walker in the past, Sheila Knight from Gravesend took on the challenge following the death of husband Keith in March this year.

Mr Knight was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, and began supporting Prostate Cancer UK along with his wife, who explained she was keen to raise awareness of the disease and encourage more men to be tested.

"He wasn't diagnosed early enough and that was something we were both concerned about," said Mrs Knight, of The Downage, Gravesend. "When it was discovered, it was already in his bones but he managed to keep going for five and a half years. We contacted Prostate Cancer UK and we've been contributing over the last five and a half years.

"After he died I sent them a donation and I said I was concerned there were no tests unless people were suffering from symptoms. They said write to your MP. Then they wrote to me and said they've got this March the Month campaign. The idea is 11,000 men die every year from prostate cancer, so they wanted people to march for the month of September, walking 11,000 steps a day.

"I wasn't a walker – my husband was. He would walk 10 miles when we had the dog. I told the family and they got me a Fitbit and said just see how many you do in a day. I was amazed to see one day I had done 8,000 steps, so I said 'ok, I'll give it a go'.

"I was sent a T-shirt and top, then I went out and paced around Woodlands Park," added Mrs Knight, who has eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. "It was 2,000 steps around so I thought that's not too bad."

Sheila said the four aims of the campaign were getting men diagnosed earlier, getting them diagnosed more accurately, finding better and kinder treatment, and improving support for everyone affected by prostate cancer.

Mr Knight, who died aged 84, had enjoyed a long career with an insurance company, during which time he had helped set up a computer system for the company in America, and even completed a BA in Business Management in his late 40s.

Latterly he had become a keen potter, creating accurate models of houses, and was a well-respected member of Christ Church in Old Road East, known for his intelligence and analytical mind.

His wife added: "When he was 18 he could have gone to university but he had National Service, so later on he did an Open University degree.

"He was an intelligent man. He did an awful lot for the church. They're always saying at the church 'if only Keith was here'. He used to solve all the problems."

And Mrs Knight said losing him just as the country went into lockdown had been particularly hard.

"That was really bad timing," she said. "He finished his chemo in December and he was looking forward to going back to pottery but he went downhill very quickly.

"He died on March 13 just as everyone was hearing about this epidemic. From then on it's just been a nightmare. We couldn't have the funeral so we just had immediate family at the crematorium, and we booked a Saturday next month to have a memorial service but we've had to abandon that now.

"He would never believe just how complicated everything has been."

But proud daughter Judith Jewiss said friends and family had been amazed at how her mum had risen to the challenge in the wake of her father's death.

"It's been a difficult time for mum being on her own," she said. "She had been self isolating pretty much for the last year while dad had been having chemotherapy. Suddenly we were into lockdown.

"The thing for my mum is she's had osteoporosis in her spine and has had three vertebrae collapse so walking is not that easy.

"But I have to say she's looking a lot better. A lot of friends said 'you might not be able to manage it', but she's kept going.

"She's actually made quite a few friends – there's a few people that walk the park in the morning so it's been quite uplifting."

Mrs Knight added: "This walking has kept me going – I've had to go out every day.

"What's been amazing is I've made so many friends. People see me every morning.

"One day I went somewhere else and the next morning they said 'are you alright? You weren't here yesterday.'

"I finish next Wednesday but actually I'll carry on with some walking."

As of Friday last week Mrs Knight had raised £1,095 online, with a further £300 pledged in direct donations.

Support the cause at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/marchthemonth2020-sheilaknight

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