Thanks for visiting our page. Below is a message from Raquel, on whose behalf we're proudly 'Racing for Life':
Caz, Pauline, Gail and Brenda have kindly got together to do the Race for Life. What this means to me...people that know my story will know or people that have been affected by cancer themselves in one way or the other.
Today I don't want to talk about my story as such as, if you have been following my story for the last four years, then you understand anyway how important it is that a cure for cancer is being found.
Normally I would have done the Race for Life myself, on the 29th of May, with my sisters and mother in law and niece; instead I spent it in a German hospital bed. I would have had a sign on my back, as that's what you do when you run a 'Race for Life'. I would have it listing all the great people I am doing this for. I would have run out of space on my sign because the people I/we have lost or are fighting alongside me, or are in remission from cancer, make such a long list of people they wouldn't all fit on my back sign - and that's not right as they all deserve a space up there. I will instead try and remember everyone here and I start with the ones we have lost.
Recently my friend Sheila lost her sister Eileen; we're still not sure what was the primary that caused her secondaries.
In January we lost my dear friend Lynn, I still miss her dearly and still well up now thinking of her. She, too, like Eileen went through so much bad luck with her diagnosis. I am convinced she should still be with us, her husband still can't believe she is no longer here.
Last year we lost Tracy Hunter, who had become Tracy Schofield just before she passed away over a year ago. A woman I actually never met but we had grown very close as her story was so similar to mine - she was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer about a month after me.
Last year another friend lost her brother to kidney cancer, also well before his time. My friend Kendra lost both her parents in a short space of time to cancer. My friend Martina lost her brother Martin to lung cancer although he never smoked. He was only in his fourties.
My uncle lost his wife to cancer in 2008, my aunt Marina. He still misses her dearly as I am sure all the above will be missed by us and their dearest.
Through a close friend I was brought in contact with Bec, a lady that left 4 children under 10 behind in 2009. It greatly upset me, she too suffered from bowel cancer. You see it is not just the old that get this type of cancer.
Just over two years ago we lost Tabz to skin cancer, she was the wife of a close schoolfriend of Paul's, my husband. She was born the same year as me and she didn't 'only' leave her husband behind but also a four year old lovely little boy. I can still see the pain in her husband's eyes, when he looks at me.
I went on a Penny Brohn Course twice in 2009; two great ladies of the first course, Liz and Marie, passed away last year, again a very sad moment for us all.
Now, please, apologies if I have missed anyone, you can see it hasn't been easy.
Then there are those fighting alongside me: Ann who I support on the phone, she also has advanced bowel cancer, Igna's mum, the wonderful ladies from the Penny Brohn Courses, Elizabeth, Amanda, Debbie and Geraldine and Andrew's wife, Steve's friend, Sue's dad. And the real heroines and heroes, old people, that are having to face this nightmare on their own. I saw them recently in hospitals and they are so lost and I feel so lucky to have my dear husband by my side.
Then there are those in remission: Amanda B, a great lady who had to face the trauma again after 11 years in remission, when you are really supposed to be 'safe' from breast cancer returning;
my friend Karen, another friend in remission, Barbara, my own mother of course, Sue's mum, Jane's mum, Margaret's mum and sis in law and Susan's dad and many others - apologies I probably forgot someone here, but I am sure you are human enough to see why.
Now, please dig deep if you can afford it and give kindly and generously, you can use a credit card if you are abroad, too, I don't think you need anymore convincing why we need a cure. . .
Thank you,
Raquel xx
