THE mother of a Cowdenbeath schoolgirl who beat leukaemia is looking for help from local businesses as she prepares to scale Mount Kilimanjaro for charity.

Susie Bradley (38) has already raised �3000 for the trip - which includes a �1000 donation for cancer charity It's Good 2 Give - but still faces stumping up for the cost of mountain climbing kit as part of the trek to the top of Africa's highest mountain, in September 2013.

A suggestion from a friend that a local business might be interested in sponsoring her kit encouraged Susie to get in touch with the Times to talk about her charity exploits.

Her daughter Samantha (11) was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009 but after 116 weeks of chemotherapy finished her treatment last October.

The help and support given during Samantha's treatment inspired her to give something back and she has already raised �1500 each for CLIC Sargent and Children with Cancer and Leukaemia Advice and Support for Parents (CCLASP), and now she is turning her attention to It's Good 2 Give.

Susie said, "Until you need these charities you don't know they exist and you don't know what they do. Children lose their confidence when they go through chemotherapy and It's Good 2 Give put on workshops to help build that confidence back up.

"They're always available to help out with anything the kids need, whether it's with their school work or just to provide them with healthy snacks.

"They have helped us through the tough times and have continued to build Samantha's confidence after chemo and the awful side effects. They put on a fashion show last year which was a big thing because it gave Samantha the confidence to get back out there again." Samantha's diagnosis nearly three years ago had an enormous effect on her family and it forced her dad Mark to give up his full-time job at Asda to stay close to her at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, in Edinburgh.

Fortunately, the 11-year-old is now on the way to resuming a normal life after finishing up last week at Foulford Primary School and is excited about starting high school in August, and Mark has gone back to work two days a week.

Susie said, "We are getting there bit by bit. It's about building life skills again and it's something that the charity helps with.

"She's excited about starting high school, it's just me that is nervous about it. She had to miss a lot of school at Foulford but they were amazingly supportive." Susie is no stranger to a challenge - the �1500 she raised for CCLASP was for abseiling off the Forth Rail Bridge with two friends - but knows there is a lot of tough work ahead to get ready for the African trip.

"Well, I have just been to the gym," she laughed, "There is a group of 25 of us going and we know it is going to be really tough.

"One of the women who runs the charity said she was going to do this and when Samantha was getting chemo I thought there was no way I would be able to do it. But when she finished I just thought 'I'm going to do it'. The kids go through so much and this is just a drop in the ocean compared to that." The family are constantly on the look out for ways to raise money for It's Good 2 Give and Susie's co-workers at Dunfermline Building Society have developed a sweet tooth thanks to Mark's homemade tablet which has so far has raised a whopping �150.

To contribute towards It's Good 2 Give you can visit Susie's fundraising page at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SusieBradley.

Susie added, "Mark's proved to be quite a dab hand with the tablet. "Everyone at work will be putting on weight, but they love it!"