Member Article

Spire breast cancer patients raise £9,000 for charity

A calendar starring 40 breast cancer patients from Spire Washington Hospital has raised more than £9,000 for local charities.

The money from the fun Calendar Girls-style calendar, which involved 39 female patients and one male patient stripping off for pictures with a pink theme – the colour of Breast Cancer Awareness – has been split between two charities and the hospital’s own breast cancer support group.

Half of the grand total of £9,170 has been donated to the Women’s Cancer Detection Society in Gateshead and the other half divided between St Benedict’s Hospice and the Spire support group. Representatives from the two charities were presented with their giant cheques at a special event at Spire Washington Hospital by calendar girls Jackie Irwin, Judith Truswell, Susan Spooner and Jill Barron.

Breast care specialist nurse, Amanda Pinkerton, who helped organise the calendar project, said: “The girls – and gentleman involved, because men can get breast cancer too – sold the calendars themselves to their friends, family and other patients at Spire Hospital Washington.

“It’s been very successful. They’ve been astounded by how much they managed to get. We never thought it would be as big as it is.

“It was a fun-packed time for all concerned and not only brought patients together, but also raised money for local charities, raised awareness of breast cancer and the individual journeys of some of the patients.

“We are planning our next event and hope this will be as successful.”

The calendar was photographed over two weekends and was launched on last year’s Wear It Pink Day on October 7 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Copies of the calendar were sold for £5 each.

Kathryn Jobes, finance secretary at the Women’s Cancer Detection Society in Gateshead said: “We’re grateful that the Spire Washington Hospital group chose us to benefit from this great fundraising idea.

“We will use the money to continue our work and supply equipment to help in the early diagnosis of breast cancer.”

Catrina Flynn, fundraising manager at St Benedict’s Hospice in Sunderland said: “We want to say a big thank you to the calendar girls – and man – for their fantastic efforts and for the donation towards our work at the hospice.”

Spire Washington Hospital’s breast cancer support group meets regularly and provides a place for patients to share their stories and advice to help them cope with life during and after their treatment.

Spire Washington Hospital is part of the Spire Healthcare group, which operates 37 private hospitals around the UK plus a specialist cancer centre in Bristol. The group was named Hospital Group of the Year for the second consecutive year in 2015 in the HealthInvestor Awards.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Astute.Work .