With work having started on the £2.5million project to build
Chesterfield’s new Macmillan cancer treatment unit. One of the charity’s
volunteers is urging people to get involved with their appeal. Shannon Cooke
finds out why.
Ray Bradley is one
of those people you can never catch at home. At 80-years-old, he shows no sign
of slowing down and dedicates his life to volunteering for Macmillan Cancer
Care. Something he has done for almost 25 years.
Since retiring
from his job at BT three decades ago, Ray, from Dronfield, has helped the
charity reach many a milestone. These include raising money to open the
£1.2million Nightingale Cancer Unit in Derby. But, with an even bigger project
taking place on his doorstep at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital, he is more
driven than ever to get people helping the charity.
“The difference
this new centre will make is unbelievable. It will save people the stress and
worry of having to go to Sheffield for treatment.” This is something Ray
appreciates all too well after having had squamous cell carcinoma, a form
of skin cancer, when he was 40-years-old.
Placing the blame
on his “blue eyes, fair-skin and a propensity to spend hours lying on a
sun bed,” Ray’s condition was luckily diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
However, it still involved an operation and him taking time off work. Something
that worried his family. “We were able
to support ourselves because we’re a close-knit bunch,” the grandfather-of-five
said, “But other families can’t and find it harder to cope so Macmillan aims to
give them that support.”
First taking on
the role of Macmillan’s county organiser in 1991, Ray traveled around North
Derbyshire fundraising for over 15 years. He used different techniques to get
his message across to different people. “I sometimes used puppets and did
ventriloquism when I visited schools. It’d be boring if I just talked at them
for an hour, you have to keep them engaged.”
As a man who loves
“clowning around,” Ray also used a custom made clown costume complete with
oversized shoes and funny hat to help him with his fundraising efforts. “I used
to wear the make-up too but then I got home one day and it’d turned my face
bright red and blotchy!”
Now the Macmillan
Representative for Chesterfield, Ray continues to give talks in a variety of
places. But now focuses more on training new volunteers. However, his most
memorable moment came from a visit to a women’s institute. “I was talking about
survival rates being at an all-time high,” he recalls, “When suddenly a lady in
her eighties stood up and said ‘Too right they are, look at me, I had breast
cancer over ten years ago, but I’m still here.’”
“It’s almost impossible not to want to get involved with Macmillan.”
Macmillan's
regional fundraising manager Rob Turner paid tribute to Ray's tireless work and
support. "We rely almost entirely on donations from the public to fund our
services. Thanks to people like Ray we can be there for more people affected by
cancer."
But with more than
1500 people in North Derbyshire diagnosed with cancer each year, Ray hopes that
he can encourage everyone to help Macmillan raise the full £2.5million needed
to build and fund the new centre.
“Go and take a
look at the wide range of things that Macmillan does for Cancer patients and
their families. Also have a look at previous patient's testimonials," he
pleaded "It is inspiring stuff and it’s almost impossible not to want to
get involved with this charity."
For
details on supporting Macmillan in Chesterfield contact Rob Turner on 07545 419
725 or email rturner@macmillan.org.uk
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