Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

They say 1 in 2 people will contract cancer at some point in their lifetime and that's a scary statistic.

It became even scarier for us on the 15th of Jan 2022 when Barrie (my husband) was diagnosed with Squamous Cell sarcoma with occult primary. (we cannot ever begin to thank Dr McKeown from Tinto practice for the quick referral to ENT and the introduction to Head & Neck specialist Mr Crosbie and his team of Macmillan Nurses Mel and Lynn Marie). It was found via fine needle aspirations and a core biopsy in lymph nodes on the left hand side of his neck and as cancer very rarely starts in lymph nodes this meant it was a secondary cancer and the hunt was on to try and find the primary. Fast forward a few months following various tests, scopes and scans when an 8mm tumour was found at the base of his tongue. Further scans and biopsies followed to help inform what treatment plan would be needed. They decided the best course of action would be 6 weeks of daily radiotherapy plus 2 sessions of chemo, the 1st on day 1 and the 2nd 3 weeks later. This started on 25th April 2022 and was better than expected as the Macmillan nurses were letting us both know what to expect every step of the way. That was until at the end of week 1 when Barrie then was struck down with steroid induced pancreatitis and was hospitalised in the local hospital with no access the macmillan team. This was a nightmare as despite explaining his situation he was treated like an alcoholic and missed a session of radiotherapy due to their complete lack of understanding. I broke him out of hospital and he carried back on with his daily treatment. Unfortunately early into week 3 of his treatment I developed covid and shut myself away in the back room to try and protect him, but it was to no avail and he too tested positive on the Saturday. The Beatson were great when we called to explain the situation and said that although the couldn't see him at his usual treatment time, but if he came in 1st thing every day they could still see him and get the place all steralised before everyone else started coming in for theirs. Barrie was doing well despite the complications, but in week 5 things took a turn for the worse and he stopped being able to eat and was hospitalised where they inserted a naso gastric tube to allow him to get some nutrition, by this time he had lost over 3 stone so they decided to keep him hospitalised with the tube until his treatment was finished. The staff in the Beatson were lovely. And the Macmillan nurses were constantly in touch to see if either of us needed anything and they organised from him to have a nebuliser and a batch of ensure build up drinks for him getting home and they put us in touch with their financial support advisor who helped us work out what (if any) financial help we could get and this was greatly appreciated when our fridge broke and they funded a new one for us as well as giving us a new matress as Barrie would be spending quite a bit of time there recuperating.

Another amazing source of support for both of us was the fabulous team at the Maggie's Centre in Lanarkshire. I personally didn't know where to turn after Barrie's diagnosis previously he would have been the one to listen to any fears or concerns I had, but as they were now about him and his prognosis I was lost. I stumbled into Maggie's in floods of tears and they could not have been more helpful. They listened whilst I rambled and blubed and gave me some great information. They have regular groups you can attend Barrie attends the monthly head and neck group and there are groups for family members too. Maggie's were also very supportive when it came to finances, helping us work out if we had claimed everything we were entitled too and even attending a hearing with us when we were trying to appeal a dwp decision. They really do go above and beyond in their tranquil environment and we will never be able to thank them all enough.

I am doing this head shave as I was going to cut my hair very short anyway as I'm stick and tired of dyeing it and want my natural colour to grow back in so I thought why not use the opportunity to raise some much needed funds for this amazing charity and will have another page too for Maggie's Lanarkshire where you can read all about all of the fabulous things their amazing folk have done to help us through this last horriffic year. I hope to keep the donations balanced between the 2 organisations so would be hugly grateful if you could split whatever you are willing to donate between the 2 pages. 🙏

Thanks for reading and thank you so much if you have taken the time to donate. We appreciate times are tricky for everyone at present so even a £1 would be appreciated.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Maggie's Lanarkshire have one to one phone, skype, facetime and email support. Their online community, run by their psychologist, cancer support specialist and benefits advisor, is there to answer questions directly and they are continuing support groups with Zoom and conference calls. Their Facebook Page is providing advice on how to cope with self isolation, shielding or treatment changes. You can join their online kitchen table and chat to others in the same position.

£5,000 would allow Maggie's to provide specialist cancer support through video or on calls for a fortnight. Anything you can do to contribute will be making a real difference.

Please do whatever you can to help by supporting us today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d55-dyHRH4