On Friday 25th September I'll be abseiling down the 12 floors of St Thomas' hospital with my sister, in aid of Guy's Cancer Charity.

I'm fundraising for Guy's Cancer Charity because donating to them means funding innovation in cancer care and advancing individualised care for people with cancer. People like me. I had 25 sessions of radiotherapy at Guy’s Cancer centre over five weeks in March-April 2024, and benefited from their holistic support offer with 6 free sessions of acupuncture and the provision of aromatherapy stick inhalers (which might sound like a small thing but when everything including daylight makes you want to throw up, you’re very grateful for anything that manages to cut through it). I had robotic-assisted surgery at St Thomas’ hospital, and although I don’t know if my specific robot was funded by Guy’s Cancer charity, their funding has been used to support advances in robotic surgery at St Thomas’.

St Thomas’ hospital has always been a part of my life. My mum was very proud of having trained to be a nurse there, I grew up with a framed picture of it on the wall. I opted to have my two surgeries there as part of my treatment, and spent a total of just over 6 weeks on the 11th floor when things didn’t quite go to plan.

For the past year I’ve been teaching at the school at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, which is co-located with St Thomas’, so I walk through it on my way to work. It’s gone from being a place with a lot of bad memories to somewhere I get to do a job I really enjoy. And it’s nice to have a connection to my mum, who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s 20 years ago, and died 9 years ago.

Abseiling down the side of the building feels like a good way to put the bad memories from treatment to rest. I’ve also convinced my sister (who was amazing throughout my treatment and spent a lot of time with me at St Thomas’ June – November 2024) that this is a good idea. This time two years ago, abseiling down a building would have felt impossible so I’m looking forward to celebrating how much things have changed with her.

Every penny of your donation will help to make a difference:

£10 could help run a virtual support group session, enabling patients and carers to share their experiences of cancer from the comfort of their own home.

£50 could help provide a comforting care package for someone receiving end of life care, helping to alleviate symptoms and soothe fears.

£150 could provide expert welfare and benefits advice for a patient experiencing financial hardship, giving them the freedom to focus on their recovery.

£350 can help invest in the latest surgical robotic technology, so expert surgeons can work with greater accuracy and send patients home to their families sooner.