There was no adjustment period to the diagnosis, no time to discuss treatment plans and very little time to say goodbye.

The cancer had metastasised in Peter Doughty’s lungs, lymph nodes and blood but the primary cause still remains unknown.

Her husband, Stavros, complied with her wishes to enter a team in Relay for Life.

It was part of his wife’s grieving process and he was committed to doing what he could to support her.

“Up until the day before, he was walking, talking, mowing the lawns and attended my daughter’s birthday party,” he said.

“With terminal illnesses you have time to come to terms with it but we didn’t.”

With only six weeks between Mr Doughty’s death and Wagga Relay for Life, he knew he would have to do something crazy to raise money fast.

Mr Tsolakides vowed to walk for the full 24 hours straight.

Mr Tsolakides had blisters on his feet by the third hour and was in immense physical pain by the eighth hour.

He bandaged his feet half way through and change into his work boots to allow for more room to accommodate the bandages.

At 4am on Sunday, Mr Tsolakides was fatigued, started to hallucinate and doubt his ability to finish.

“I do train but not for endurance things like that,” he said.

“I wore shoes that I don’t typically wear all the time so I had pretty severe blisters after three hours.

“Half way through it was very difficult but I took it one step at a time.

“My brain at no stage said I was going to give up but I was daunted by the pain in my feet.”

‘One step at a time’ is now how Mr Tsolakides encourages his family to take the grieving process.

Mr Tsolakides said he knew that when the sun came up it was only a few more hours until the finish.

He stopped to use the bathroom but kept walking while he ate and drank.

He had someone walking with him at all times to ensure he was never alone on the track.

“It was worth the pain,” he said.

Mr Tsolakides’s relay team of 10 people, Pennant for Pedro, has raised more than $3500 so far.