Sister act raises £5,000 to thank staff at the South West Wales Cancer Centre
A sister act has seen £5,000 raised to thank the dedicated staff of a life-saving centre at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital.
Emma Phillips was diagnosed with breast cancer last winter and, after successful treatment, wanted to give something back.
She teamed up with her sister Rachel Bennett with the aim of raising £500 for the Chemotherapy Day Unit, part of the South West Wales Cancer Centre based at Singleton.
Instead, their family, friends and the wider community including a Wales rugby star rallied around and helped them raise 10 times that amount.
The South West Wales Cancer Centre, SWWCC, is run by Swansea Bay University Health Board and provides a range of lifesaving NHS treatments such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.
It celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and a fundraising appeal has been launched by Swansea Bay Health Charity, the health board’s official charity, to commemorate the landmark.
The appeal, Going the Extra Mile for Cancer, will support the thousands of patients from the Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda areas who are cared for there every year, as well as relatives and staff.
Emma, who lives with her long-term partner Neil and their teenage sons Harry and Charlie in Gorseinon, discovered a lump in her breast last October. “I had the results on November 17th and started chemo on December,” she said.
“That finished on 8th March and then I had surgery on May 15th. On May 31st they told me I was cancer-free, so I’ve had the all-clear, thankfully.”
Last year, the Chemotherapy Day Unit, or CDU, was relocated from the back of Singleton to Ward 9 within the hospital.
This provides scope to increase the number of chemotherapy chairs. It is also better in the event a patient becomes unwell as, previously, porters or an ambulance crew had to get them to the main hospital building.
Despite these advantages, the new CDU has a very clinical feel and staff want to transform it, to give it a more welcoming feel.
Emma, who is having ongoing therapy including bone strengthening injections, decided to get involved in raising funds towards that aim, as a way of thanking the staff who had looked after here.
“They are just amazing. I don’t think these girls get paid enough money,” she said. “I was really scared coming here. Really, really frightened.
“I came to have a look around before I started treatment. I was crying. I said I wasn’t going to come back. But I did, and I actually quite miss the girls, I’ve got to be honest.
“I spent Christmas going through this and they were absolutely amazing. And they put up with me because I’ve been a bit dramatic!”
Rachel said her sister had originally asked for her help to raise £500. “I’m a trustee of a charity and Emma said, if anyone can do it, you can.
“We did a bucket collection in Asda, which raised £800 in one morning. We asked around for raffle donations and we had so many that we were able to put a lovely hamper together.
“The hamper alone raised £750. We raised another £800 in one morning with the bucket collection in Asda.
“And then we pulled in a few favours and made a few cheeky requests and organised a fundraiser in Loughor Rugby Club with 120 people. We had live music, a fish and chip truck, a quiz and raffle.”
Local business donated a treasure trove of fantastic prizes from meals to spa days and Swans tops, while Welsh rugby star and local lad Leigh Halfpenny donated boots and jerseys.
“We raised 10 times what we had hoped to raise. I didn’t expect that at all,” said Emma. “When we arranged to bring the cheque here, we were up to £4,300. And people kept saying, oh, I need to give to you.
“I kept holding on and we reached £4,970 and then one of our friends said, I’ll make it up to £5,000 exactly. I can’t believe it, really.
“I have been very fortunate to have the best care. The best team at the CDU, the best oncology team and the most amazing surgeon.
“How lucky are we to have all these wonderful people working at our local hospital.”
If this story has inspired you to support Going the Extra Mile for Cancer, you can donate here. Find out more about the appeal, and read the latest news stories, here.
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