[A]lmost £10,000 has been raised by the family and friends of former patients for cancer services at North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust (NCUH).
Gill Little, from Gretna, and her family have helped raise £6.7k in memory of her sister, Jenn Morrow, which will go towards improvements to the place where Jenn received chemotherapy.
Additionally, a group of ten cyclists from Silloth donated almost £2.5k to the Radiotherapy department at Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle (CIC), which has been used towards the cost of the Trust’s new LINAC (linear accelerator) radiotherapy machine.
Jenn Morrow was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2011, and later breast cancer in 2012, and sadly passed away aged 43 in 2015. Her family and friends have since made tremendous efforts to raise the £6.7k, including taking part in a sky dive, Cancer Research’s Race for Life and various other charity events. The money will be used towards improvements at Reiver House, CIC, where Jenn received treatment.
The Silloth cyclists raised the money by biking from Carlisle to Glasgow over three days in honour of their friend Alan Messenger, who was treated for prostate cancer at the Cumberland Infirmary several years ago. Alan, now a former patient, also took part in the bike ride.
Gill Little, sister of patient Jenn Morrow, said: “The staff at Reiver House really gave comfort to Jenn, they became her friend and our aim is to continue to raise money so that we can ensure anyone else in that situation gets the best care possible – our next goal is to reach the £10,000 milestone. On behalf of Jenn’s children and family we’d like to thank all our friends, our local communities in Longtown and Gretna and the businesses who’ve contributed to our fundraising efforts. Everyone’s help is greatly appreciated.”
Victoria Johnston, chemotherapy team leader at CIC, said: “Since Jenn passed away in 2015 we have remained close with the family who have been amazing in raising money to put towards improving the experiences of other patients. I’d like to extend our thanks to them, and all who raised money, in allowing us to benefit patients for years to come.”
Suzanne Stanley, radiotherapy services manager, said: “The LINAC machine has already been a great asset to the Trust, the contribution these men have made from their cycling efforts is very much appreciated. A big thanks goes to all those who took part in fundraising.”
