A teenager who beat cancer when she was a child is putting on her war paint to encourage people to take part in a charity race.

Clara Markiewicz, of Calvert Road, High Barnet, was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was four but was given the all-clear after five months of chemotherapy.

Now 17, she wants thousands of mothers, daughters, grandmothers, friends and colleagues to unite and form a ‘pink army’ at Race for Life events this year.

To get the message across, she posed with battle stripes on her face and a message on her nails spelling out 'pink army'.

She said: “Even though I was very young when I was diagnosed I have some clear memories of the five months I spent at the Royal London Hospital having chemotherapy. My mum stayed with me and I often felt too sick or sore to eat anything.

“Life in hospital was hard. There were times I didn't see anyone other than nurses, doctors and my mum for long periods of time due to a dangerously high risk of infection. There was a point when I was prepared for a bone marrow transplant and my doctor was looking for a donor but in the end I didn't need it.

“At one point doctors said my survival rate was almost 40 per cent and I was put on a clinical trial. It worked, research saved my life and continues to save lives every day.”

Clara is now determined to rally women of all ages to the cause of the cause due to her first-hand experience of the power of research.

Although she is in the clear, she often has to have operations due to the side effects of the treatment but she says she is looking forward to her future.

Clara, who lives with her mother, Ingrid, her father Chris and brother Adam, is studying for her A-levels at East Barnet School in Chestnut Grove and hopes to go to university to study children’s nursing.

She said: “Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a children’s nurse, it’s always been my aim and I have no doubt it has been inspired by the time I spent in hospital.

“'I was both extremely unlucky and extremely lucky at the same time. Unlucky because I got this rare and viscious form of cancer in the first place, yet lucky because I survived it.

“Thanks to research and treatment I’m still here today. By standing together in the bid to beat cancer, we can fight back. I hope lots of shoppers seize the opportunity to show cancer who’s boss by signing up to Race for Life. Seize the opportunity! Grab your trainers and pink lipstick and get involved.”

To enter Race for Life visit raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.