IF someone had told Esther Rudge 10 years ago that her baby daughter would be fit enough to leap off a tower for charity she would have been over the moon.

Stephanie Rudge, 12, from Ballingham Court, was born with a lump half her birth-weight and nearly died when she developed a second lump two-and-a-half-years later.

Against all the odds the Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School student survived and is now bracing herself to take part in a sponsored abseil to say thank you to the Cancer Research Campaign.

The now fit and healthy girl was born by caesarean section weighing 4.5kg with a lump attached to her body weighing 2kg.

At just one day old she was taken back to theatre and survived a six-hour operation to remove the growth.

"The lump was external and was enormous, absolutely huge. Doctors had never seen anything like it before," said Esther.

Tests found the tissue to be benign and Esther, with husband Henry, were heaving a sigh of relief when, at the age of two-and-a-half, during a regular check up in Hereford, a tumour the size of a grapefruit was discovered growing internally at the base of Stephanie's spine.

"It was very very rare to find a lump. Even though she was having regular check-ups, by the age of two and a half we were expecting no problems," said Esther, who at the time had just given birth to her third child, Virginia.

Less than one week later the toddler was started on a six-month course of chemotherapy at Birmingham, where she was in the hands of one of the world's top cancer specialists.

Now Stephanie, supported by her two sisters, Hazz 14, Virginia 10 and brother Monty, 6, is planning to re-pay some of the kindness.

She says she would like to put some money back into the charity and is aiming to raise at least £200, for which she would receive a special fleece to mark her achievement.

It will be one of many proud moments for Esther and Henry, whose daughter plays the euphonium in Hereford Youth Band and has a string of sporting interests including trampolining, tennis, hockey, netball and basketball.

The jump at the Bishop's School on December 1 has been organised by the Cancer Research Campaign's Joy Cartwright: "We're really grateful to Stephanie and her family for agreeing to share her story.

"I'm sure that everyone reading this will realise how important it is for research to continue so we are able to offer the very best new anti cancer treatments to those young patients and their families who are affected."

Anyone who would like to sponsor Stephanie can contact her at home on 01432 840230.