A regional daily editor is attempting to give up alcohol for the whole of January to raise money for charity after his aunt died suddenly from cancer.

Keith Harrison, who leads the Express and Star, Wolverhampton, is taking on Cancer Research’s Dryathlon challenge, which encourages people to raise money by quitting drinking for one month.

He is carrying out the charity challenge after his aunt Ann died suddenly from cancer at the age of 60 last month, less than a week after first going to the doctor.

Keith, pictured left, has written movingly about her death in a first-person piece explaining why he decided to give up alcohol for the month and  has already raised more than £600.

He said that his aunt had not felt well but had tried to just ignore it and focus on preparing for Christmas.

Wrote Keith: “But this pain was niggling her, no matter how hard she tried to soldier on. So eventually she went to see her doctor, who took one look and agreed she was ill, but he couldn’t properly diagnose what it was.

“He took some blood tests and asked her to pop back on Thursday. She went back to work, battled through her ‘bug’ and duly returned to the GP at the appointed time for her results.

“Things suddenly got very serious, very quickly. She was ill – terribly ill and needed to go home, get some things then report to hospital straight away.

“In shock, she gathered some essentials and within hours was on the ward, having more tests.

“Amid a whirlwind of emotion, confusion and bewilderment, the results came like a hammer blow. Cancer. Inoperable. Terminal.”

His aunt was told that she only had weeks to live and would not see Christmas or the birth of her new grandchild and this became only days, with her dying less than a week after going to her GP.

Keith added: “Ann was a ‘life and soul of the party’ character who lived a happy life to the full. She would want everyone to go out and have a good time this New Year.

“But most of all, she’d want us to find a cure and stop other families going through the same suffering.

“So at a time of New Year’s resolutions – and amid a sea of good causes – I’m asking everyone to do something, anything, to help in 2014.

“It’s not much, but I’m taking part in the January dryathlon for Cancer Research UK. Together, let’s beat this killer in 2014.”

Keith can be sponsored by visiting his JustGiving Page.