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| Suzanne England |
I was very honoured to be asked
to speak to over 700 Christie supporters and fundraisers at the annual
Christmas concert on 13th December. I want to thank The Christie for inviting me.
I had been
asked to share my experiences as a patient and to reflect on 2016, having
raised a significant amount for The Christie during the year.
It was a beautiful Christmassy and
uplifting night in the atmospheric Manchester Cathedral. It certainly is the
most stunning building I have ever seen.
The children's choirs were fabulous, sang
their hearts out and did their families proud. Jenny Powell, of Wheel of
Fortune fame, brought some real humour to the event. The professional singers
and musicians were full of festive spirit. My twins were thrilled to hear
Natalie McGrath again after she performed at a family wedding earlier this
year. Alexander "Buble" Stewart even sang my name in his fantastic
version of Feeling Good. Lucky me!
I am so happy that I managed to
hold it together to deliver my speech, but having a huge hug from my twins as I
came off stage nearly tipped me over the edge!!!!
As did a little girl in the
choir on the front row.
She gave me a double thumbs up
and the biggest smile ever (toothless just like my twins) whilst dancing around
in her reindeer antlers and mini Santa hat headgear! I shed a little happy tear
and felt so thankful to have shared that night with everyone there.
I was extremely touched to hear from so
many of the audience that my words had given them hope to keep up the fight
against cancer, and that it also inspired many to go out and play their part in
raising money for The Christie, our truly world class hospital.
If you weren't at the concert here is my
story.........
2016 for me has been about making memories.
It’s been about making the most of every moment but also fundraising for The
Christie.
With my beautiful twin daughters Evie and
Ellie and my husband Rick, we have made memory boxes, planted cherry trees for
the children and visited Disneyland together. With even more exciting
Christmassy things lined up in the following weeks.
Being at the cathedral to say thank you to
The Christie will be one of the biggest memories of all. That’s why my husband,
twins, family and friends all came along to remember how far we have come
together, forever.
Thanks to The Christie I am 5 years free of
cancer this year!
I truly believe that without The Christie I
would not be alive today. They saved my life many times over. For this I will
be forever thankful.
Seven years ago, when I was pregnant with
my twin girls, they both kicked hard at the same time and broke my ribs. That
was how I discovered I had lymphoma! They are my guardian angels!
Evie and Ellie were christened on Easter Day
2010, days before my chemotherapy started.
With Hodgkins lymphoma there is a good
chance of survival and this helped me and my family stay positive, looking
forward to the twin’s first birthday.
But my lymphoma was aggressive. Six month’s
of chemo didn’t work. I was offered intensive salvage chemo as an inpatient at
The Christie, hoping this would give me long enough to hear Evie and Ellie
speak their first words.
Thankfully, I responded to the treatment
and was then offered a stem cell transplant, a high risk option that would
potentially give me full remission.
So I spent two months in a germ free bubble
on the Haematology and Transplant Unit - the darkest time I have ever
experienced.
Following transplant the risk of relapse
was extremely high. Luckily I qualified for a clinical trial of Brentuximab
Vedotin – now licensed it is being described as the new lymphoma wonder drug.
And it worked wonders for me!
For 6 years, I’ve been a patient at The
Christie and have also visited most other hospitals locally. The Christie is by
far the most outstanding, caring, compassionate, professional hospital. It
truly is world class.
Every single member of The Christie team is
talented and committed to their patients. It makes being there such a positive
experience, even if you have cancer.
The Phlebotomists, Professors, Porters and
Physios.
The Consultants, Care assistants, Cleaners,
Chefs and Counsellors.
The Registrars, Receptionists and
Radiographers.
Not forgetting the amazing Nurses, Students
and Volunteers.
And a
special mention for Christie bear who is my twin girls’ favourite!
All have brightened my days and helped me
maintain a positive outlook.
It goes without saying of course that my
lymphoma team are the best, but I’m biased!
Life after cancer is hard but it is
priceless. Every second counts.
I’ve had a lot of counselling through
Professor Radford’s fantastic team, and am now more able to process what has
happened and how it has affected me. It’s helped me to come to terms with my
“after cancer identity”, talk to friends and family about my experience and
find the right words to thank the people who helped me.
Being able to speak at the Christmas
concert and to say thank you to The Christie was a massive milestone for me.
Five years ago, my brother Paul and sister-in-law
Grace raised £2,600 for The Christie, running the Manchester 10K! I thought
this was amazing!
Five years on, 5 years cancer free, I was
inspired to fundraise for The Christie aiming to raise £5,000. I’m no runner
but do know how to throw a jolly good party.
I spent 6 months gathering prizes and
auction items from local businesses, retailers and influential friends.
So in July 2016 we held a massive garden
party. Friends and family
bought tickets, enjoyed a hog roast and bubbly, bid in the auction, danced and
won prizes galore. We smashed our target of £5,000, achieving over £20,000.
What a memory to have for all involved.
Not only can I now say “I did it for The
Christie”, but the Lymphoma department gets funds for vital research to beat
cancer sooner.
For the hospital every penny counts. Every
ticket and every raffle ticket sold counts. So dig deep! I want to thank
everyone who attended the Christmas concert as them just being there made a big
difference.
Since having cancer, I now urge everyone to
go out and live your life to the max. Enjoy every second and raise money for
our world class hospital “The Christie”.
Happy Christmas everyone!
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