We are The Rack Pack! Twelve friends, all ass-kicking breast cancer survivors and thrivers whose stories you will read as you turn these pages – each different, but each a testament to resilience, strength, courage and hope. All of us have faced the terror of a diagnosis, followed by the most brutal of treatments (some of us are still bravely battling), but there is much to be optimistic about. Thanks to improved diagnostics and treatments, outcomes have improved greatly and the survival rate has doubled in the last forty years.

One in seven women will develop the disease in her lifetime and one man is diagnosed every day, but an investment of £300 million into research over the next ten years might mean that by 2050, anyone who develops breast cancer will survive it. The proceeds from this calendar may be a mere drop in the fundraising ocean, but every penny of profit will support the transformative work of Breast Cancer Now and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. We raised over £31,000 with our first calendar, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could top that?

Riding shamelessly on the coattails of the inspirational WI Calendar Girls’ who have so graciously supported us, we appear before you in all our boobalicious glory, baring more flesh than most would dare and standing defiant in the face of life threatening illness. In tandem with the serious business of fundraising, we want to promote the message that despite the ordeal we’ve all been through, we are still laughing! Whilst we are sure some of you would pay good money NOT to be subjected to these images, we trust that having us hanging on your kitchen wall won’t put you off your cornflakes as much as make you smile and feel proud that in purchasing this calendar, you have made a meaningful contribution to the fight against this horrendous disease.

We warmly thank you for your support and raise a collective and resolute middle finger to breast cancer!