ON THURSDAY, Leanne Buck will undergo major surgery in her battle against ovarian cancer.

And the 38-year-old mum will go into hospital with the knowledge that her fundraising dance video idea has brought in hundreds of pounds to support the work of Velindre Cancer Centre, whose staff have treated her since her diagnosis in May.

Last Saturday, Mrs Buck, who lives with husband Andrew and five-year-old son Ethan in Llanmartin, organised a dance to a Cheryl Cole song involving more than 30 people.

The event took place outside Underwood social club – and the £547 already raised through her page at justgiving.com/Leanne-Buck was boosted by many more donations on the day.

A total remains to be confirmed.

A film of the event will be posted on Facebook, after which Mrs Buck hopes more donations will be made.

Mrs Buck, who managed to take part, has undergone bouts of chemotherapy since the beginning of June after being diagnosed the previous month, but said her situation “still doesn’t feel real”.

“I don’t feel like I’ve been ill,” she said.

“I’ve had pains, but a lot of that has been from the chemotherapy.”

Her diagnosis came out of the blue after she had sought help for what she thought might be a bowel problem.

“I’d lost weight through going to the gym since last November, but around Easter I noticed I was getting tired and slower, and my stomach had started bloating,” said Mrs Buck.

“I thought I might have an irritable bowel, so I went to get checked out and they found I had ovarian cancer.

“It had spread to the bottom part of the liver, and might be wrapped around the bowel.

“It was a real shock because I hadn’t felt unwell.

“When the chemo started I had my hair cut short and then I got Ethan and my husband to shave my head.

She added: “It’s difficult for Ethan to understand because he’s so young, but he knows I’m not very well.

“I got the idea for the fun dance after seeing another woman had done one and posted it on Facebook.

“It’s in aid of Velindre because they do a fantastic job.

“I picked Cheryl Cole’s song Fight For This Love and we had t-shirts printed with the word Fight on them.”

She hopes the fundraising effort will also help raise awareness of ovarian cancer, known as a ‘silent’ cancer as many women often do not notice its symptoms – which can be subtle and taken for minor problems – until the disease is advanced.

According to the charity Target Ovarian Cancer – targetovariancancer.org.uk – three per cent of women in the UK feel very confident in identifying a symptom.

For further information, and to donate to Mrs Buck’s fundraising effort, visit justgiving.com/Leanne-Buck