Don't just live a little... (People's Attitude Towards Cancer Patients)

Member Name: FORCHARITY

Product:	People's Attitude Towards Cancer Patients
Date:	27/09/02 (218 review reads)
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A mother of three small children, a granny with three children and 6 grandchildren, a 23 year old single male living life in the fast lane and loving every minute of it, the next door neighbour, a father with a wife and two children, a sixteen year old studying for her GCSE?s, a bouncing baby boy of 9 months who is just learning to crawl?

Cancer discriminates against no-one. Cancer can attack anyone at any time. Early detection and preventative measures are what?s required in fighting this wicked disease. What these people rely on most is the love, support, understanding and undivided attention in what is probably the most testing and traumatic time of their lives, by people who have a first hand knowledge of the emotions they?re experiencing, as well as being able to advise on treatment and care.

Some of you know this already so I apologise for repeating myself, but this is how I came to learn of Christies Hospital in Manchester.

In March of 2000 we received the news that we were expecting our first child. My dear mother in law was so excited at the prospect of becoming a granny. We were expecting our baby at Christmas of 2000, and she was overwhelmed with excitement. She was praying hard for a girl as she had given birth to three boys, and had brothers herself! She couldn?t pass a baby shop without spending a fortune on gifts.

In June of 2000 my mother in law, after a period of three months suffering a horrendous cough, was sent to the hospital for tests on her lungs. Not too long afterwards she was given the devastating news that she had a particularly aggressive form of lung cancer, which had wrapped its way around the main exit route from her heart to her brain, and was totally inoperable. She was completely devastated. She had been given six months to live, at the most, the same time the baby was due.

I was growing bigger and bigger and was finding it particularly difficult to cope wit
h the sadness in her eyes each time we visited her, when she put her hands on my tummy and felt Rachel kicking back at her, or when we were discussing names. I had a one-off scan to find out the sex of the baby just in case anything happened beforehand, and was overcome with emotion when I found out it was a little girl. And so was she.

She was referred to Christies Hospital in Manchester, a centre of excellence in the care and treatment of cancer patients, where she underwent high doses of chemotherapy treatment. We were taken aback by Christies attitude towards cancer, because it was a positive one. It isn?t over till it?s over, kind of thing. The hospital was amazing, and was so warm and friendly; not at all the clinical-type building I had expected.

At one stage Joan amazed doctors when they found out that the growth had shrunk dramatically. But it was still there and it was only a matter of time before she would be too weak to undergo any more treatment.

Rachel was born in January of 2001, to the delight of all our family including Granny McGrath who was waiting outside the room! It was a miracle that she had made it this far, and was still well enough to be up and about, and to make a fuss of her son and daughter in law and their new baby girl. We made the most of each day, and once or twice a week she managed to drive over to our house (as I don?t drive unfortunately) to help in feeding and changing nappies.

But in May we could see she was taking a turn for the worse, and was becoming weaker. The coughing was becoming much worse but she was still at home. We were shocked to see her so thin and gaunt, and to assist in her breathing she had an oxygen tank by the side of her chair, which she had to use constantly, just to enable her to utter a few words to us. She could still just find the strength to hold Rachel though, as long as she was sat down, and she would delight when Rachel giggled at her new husky, whis
pering voice.

At the beginning of June she was eventually admitted to Christies Hospital as she now required around-the-clock care and attention as well as a constant supply of oxygen. She was treated so well, the staff were fantastic ? so caring and compassionate, with such a difficult job to do. They should be commended for their choice of career.

We took in pictures of Rachel for her to keep next to her bed, which she said she kissed every night before she went to sleep. On June 16th 2001 she peacefully passed away during the night, with her husband and son by her side. It was a gift for her to have had six months with her granddaughter; we certainly didn?t expect it and are very grateful for being given it.

The point of telling you this story (and repeating it, in some cases!) is to make clear the reason why each and every one of us should at least give a little to charity on a regular basis to make sure the fewer people there are that have to go through this heartache, the better.

-----CHRISTIES HOSPITAL-----

First opened in 1892 as the Cancer Pavillion for Incurables, in November of 1901 it was renamed The Christie Hospital to mark the pioneering work of Mr and Mrs Christie, co-founders. The hospital doesn?t just treat patients from the North West but covers a population of 3.5 million. People travel from all over the country to be treated at the largest single-site cancer centre in Europe. In addition to this, they are an international leader in cancer research and development.

Some facts and figures from their website:

Treatments include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, transplants and endocrinology.

Each year the hospital deals with approximately:

*15,000 in-patients,
*14,500 day cases,
*72,500 out-patients treatments
*67,000 outpatients.

There are approximately 300 in-patient beds, which are intensively used, with an average length of s
tay of less than six days. Approximately 1,700 staff work on the Trust site, plus over 200 volunteers.

World firsts for the Christie include:

Pioneering the use of Roentgen X-rays for cancer therapy (1901)
Setting the first international standards for radiation treatment (1932)
Conducting the world s first ever clinical trial for a new breast cancer drug (1944)
First clinical trials for breast cancer drug Tamoxifen (1970)
Pioneering work into the use of cultured bone marrow for leukaemia treatment (1986)
Shaping radio therapy beam to match tumour mass (1990)
Pioneering the use of stem cells from a single blood sample to protect bone marrow from the effects of treatment (1991)
Inventing photo-dynamic therapy for skin cancer (1996)
Trialling vaccine for cervical cancer (2000)

The Trust manages to raise £20million from charity and research sources, as well as receiving around £50million from the NHS on an annual basis.

For the last five years, they have been raising funds through Christies Against Cancer, to mark their centenary year. The figure raised, which reached a staggering £25 million by last year, will be used to expand their world class facilities, helping to identify, treat and cure cancer.

Why do they require so much funding you may ask? Surely there are other charities just as needy that don?t get anywhere near the kind of funding Christies do? Well it is imperative that funds are constantly available for scientists and clinicians to continue with vital research and new treatments, and to buy essential equipment. You can find out more about how your donations are put to good use, by visiting their website: www.christies.org.

Upon visiting their website you?ll find loads of interesting facts and figures, as well as a diary of events for keeping you up to date with fundraising and a link to contact the Appeals Office should you like to make a donation or organise
a fundraising event of your own.

Our lasting memory of Christies is a good one. The staff are second to none. The facilities are outstanding, and the building itself is very warm, friendly and inviting ? not in the least bit clinical.

I included my story at the top of the page in the hope that inspires you to do some fundraising yourself ? not necessarily for Christies but any cancer charity. It could be in the form of sending a cheque to the appeals office, setting up a direct debit to contribute on a regular basis, or it could be a bungee jump or a sponsored swim. The only limitation is your imagination.

Rachel was christened in the middle of August this year, and with the invitations we included a little note asking if anyone thinking of buying Rachel a present would kindly make a donation to Christies instead, in honour of her Granny. We raised £400, as well as some kind relatives still giving a gift too!

Cancer can storm into anybodys life at any age. It?s a sad fact that one in three of us will be affected by cancer at some stage in our lives. We can try to avoid it by staying fit and healthy and eating well, but if you are one of the unlucky ones you won?t find a better place to be treated.

***Good health to you all***

General Charitable Fund Registered Charity No 1049751
Appeals Office, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, M20 4BX
Tel 0161 446 3988
Email: appeal@christies.org

?This opinion was donated to the FORCHARITY account by Bestmum. To read more about this initiative, go to the FORCHARITY profile page and all will be explained!"

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