IN September 2015, Jane Metcalfe and her husband Rob Bolton managed to get away to Whitby for a short break.

“We had four absolutely fabulous days,” she says.

Countless people have enjoyed Whitby’s sea air. But for Jane and Rob, this was a very special holiday. Because Jane had cancer. She’d undergone intensive chemotherapy, then surgery to remove a tumour from her bowel, then more chemotherapy.

Jane had always been a fit, active person. “We used to go to Scotland regularly and always tried to fit in some Munroe bagging,” she says. But after she came out of hospital following surgery, she felt fragile.

She underwent more chemotherapy: and it was then that local charity York Against Cancer arranged for her to stay in the charity’s respite holiday home in Whitby – a three-bed flat with amazing views of the coastline.

It was just the break she needed, Jane admits.

“It was my first trip out. The flat is bright and the facilities are gorgeous. Its location was wonderful. Just to be able to walk on the beach...”

Jane, from Heworth, is one of countless local people whose experience of cancer has been made that bit easier to bear thanks to the support of York Against Cancer.

She had been diagnosed just days before her wedding to Rob, on Valentine’s Day 2015.

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Jane Metcalfe and Rob Bolton on their wedding day in 2015

Few of the smiling guests knew that, however – the couple had stayed quiet about her illness so as to be able to enjoy their big day.

But they returned home to grim news. Tests revealed that the ovarian cancer which had spread to her lymph nodes also threatened her bowel.

Hence that gruelling programme of surgery and chemotherapy.

Jane says she coped with the treatment “reasonably well”.

But the extra support offered by York Against Cancer certainly helped, she says.

As well as that badly-needed break in Whitby, she took part in exercise classes that were part of a recovery package the charity supports. And she also attended the Look Good... Feel Better make-up lessons offered through York Against Cancer at the Cancer Care Centre at York Hospital.

“That was really great,” she says.

“We all met, feeling quite shy, and went to have the lesson. By the time it was halfway through everyone was relaxed, sitting and chatting.

“Everyone is so supportive of one another – and it is just nice to have a bit of pampering.”

For many people, cancer comes out of the blue and can be life-changing, Jane says. “But if you use the support systems that are there, it just makes it an easier journey, and York Against Cancer is part of that.”

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Extra support: a hair loss session in the cancer care centre at York Hospital

The charity has been ‘part of that’ for almost 30 years, now: in fact, it celebrates its 30th birthday on January 31.

It has come a long way in the last three decades.

The York Against Cancer story began when Steve Leveson, a consultant surgeon at St James’s in Leeds with a background in cancer research, came to York Hospital in the mid 1980s.

Compared to what he had seen in Leeds, cancer patients in York weren’t getting a very good deal. Cancer surgery was ‘one size fits all’, with no attempt to distinguish between different kinds of disease.

“There was no physical or psychological back-up and the administration of chemotherapy was very ad-hoc,” recalls Professor Leveson, who today is the charity’s chairman.

He joined forces with fellow surgeon John Craven and Dr Colin Garner, a senior researcher at the University of York’s cancer research unit.

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Early days: York Against Cancer founders (l-r) Colin Garner, Steve Leveson, Jack Birch and John Craven

Together, the three men decided to do what they could to improve services for cancer patients in and around York.

They decided that York needed not only a purpose-built cancer centre, but also cancer specialist nurses who could help patients get through the difficult times after diagnosis.

There were no specialist nurses in York at the time, Prof Leveson recalls – and they were desperately needed.

A cancer diagnosis comes as a huge shock. And however gently a consultant breaks the news, it is a lot to take in.

“Patients would be getting all this information, and then they would leave, and they hadn’t taken it in.

“They might get the wrong bus on the way home. And then they’d phone up and say, ‘What did you just say?’”

Cancer specialist nurses are the experts at helping patients through these times. But to recruit them and to develop a proper cancer centre in York would take money. And in 1987, just like today, NHS money was tight.

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Chair: Professor Steve Leveson

The three men decided the answer was to launch a charity.

Jack Birch, a well-known York builder and two time Lord Mayor of York, agreed to become chairman. An initial fundraising target of £60,000 was set, and two local schoolgirls, Catherine Clough and Sarah Cavill, won a competition to devise the charity’s name and logo – a hand brandishing the letter ‘Y’ with flames forming a torch. York Against Cancer was born.

There have been several significant milestones in the 30 years since. In 1989, the charity funded the appointment of York’s first specialist oncology nurse, Nicki Cocovini.

Then in 1997, on its tenth anniversary, the founding aim of establishing a cancer care centre at York Hospital was realised after a public appeal – backed by The Press – to raise £100,000. The Press dubbed the campaign the ‘Cancer Haven Appeal’, and with the help of the people of York the target was smashed in less than a year. Today’s cancer care centre is the result.

There have been other developments since. The charity now pours significant amounts of money into cancer research. It operates a minibus taking patients from the York area to and from radiotherapy sessions at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, runs educational programmes with local schools and provides advice and support for cancer sufferers and their families.

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The York Against Cancer minibus in 2015 with driver Graham Bradbury and patients Harry Watson, Hilary Young and David Lovett

To mark its 30th birthday this year, there are plans for two more big developments. A second respite house will open, this time in Filey, to offer breaks to cancer sufferers and their families; and, on July 31, the charity will officially launch its new £700,000 mobile chemotherapy unit, which will effectively bring chemotherapy to patients in outlying areas so they don’t have to make the long journey to hospital.

The charity has also undergone a rebrand, with a new website and logo to mark its 30th birthday.

But its core values remain the same, says general manager Julie Russell.

“We’re about doing the things that help to make the day to day life of patients and their families better.”

Jane Metcalfe knows how important that is.

Her latest test results showed no cause for concern. There’s a long way still to go, she recognises. “I am just starting to feel a bit better.” But looking back she can see how valuable the additional care given by York Against Cancer – the Whitby break; the exercise classes; the Look Good, Feel Better make-up lessons – all was. “It is space and time that is yours and it helps you as an individual. I think the charity does a fabulous job.”

Long may it continue to do so...

WHAT THE CHARITY DOES TODAY

Over the last 30 years, York Against Cancer has raised more than £14 million. Some of its key projects include:

Cancer Care Centre, York Hospital

This was set up in 1998 following a £100,000 York Against Cancer appeal. Today the centre provides information, support, free complementary therapies such as aromatherapy, massage, reflexology, Indian head massage and reiki, plus hair loss support, Look Good... Feel Better pamper therapy, and guidance for patients with cancer and their families.

Free minibus service

The York Against Cancer minibus ferries patients from in and around the York area to St James' Hospital in Leeds for radiotherapy treatment, so that they don't have to worry about how they will be able to get there and back.

Respite breaks

The charity offers free breaks to up to 200 cancer patients and their families every year at the respite holiday home in Whitby. A second respite home in Filey will open later this year

Mobile chemotherapy unit

The £700,000 unit, bought with the help of a generous legacy, is due to launch at the end of July. It will travel around York and north and east Yorkshire taking chemotherapy to patients, so that they do not have to travel long distances for treatment. The unit will be able to provide treatment for up to four patients at a time, in comfort and privacy.

The charity is planning a major fundraising appeal to raise to cover the unit's running costs into the future.

Research

The charity helped set up the Jack Birch Cancer research unit at the University of York in the early 1990s, and still provides core funding for the unit to this day. It will provide the unit with £1 million of funding over the next five years York Against Cancer shops There are two shops, in Huntington and at York Hospital itself. These are staffed by YAC volunteers, and help raise vital funds.

Administration

York Against Cancer has a small staff of just eight people - three full time, the rest part-time. It relies on volunteers for many of the projects it delivers,a and for fund-raising.

  • York Against Cancer will be holding a series of events to mark its birthday year, including a public service of thanksgiving at York Minster on April 29, and an anniversary ball in September. To find out more visit www.yorkagainstcancer.org.uk

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