Plymouth mum gives back to charity after treatment
Plymouth mum Claire Barnard has every reason to be cheerful than most this January.
For back in 2009 on a cold January afternoon, she was facing a very different life to the one she has now.
Claire was diagnosed with a rare cancer which turned her life upside down in every way.
The mum of two was diagnosed with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma where a huge tumour was discovered growing at the back of her nasal passage.
Having lost 5 stone in weight and unable to eat she was determined she was going to pull through. She explained: “The one thing that kept me going, to stay strong and positive for, were my children.
Targeted treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy soon followed her diagnosis. For six months she was fed through a feeding tube into her stomach and her weight plummeted.
Her treatment at Derriford Hospital was a success and Claire was given the all clear. Keeping her promise to give something back for the lifesaving treatment she received, Claire found herself volunteering with Cancer Research UK.
Her promise has been kept and the Estates Office Manager for Livewell, Southwest, has not only returned full-time to work, but devotes her spare time to working at Race for Life events around the south west.
She can often be found setting up the 5K course in the early hours of the morning, making sure health and safety checks are carried out and welcoming the army of women who take part every year at events in Devon, Cornwall and through to Bath and Bristol.
And she is calling on local women to sign up this January and join the fight against the disease.
The 43 year old also volunteers as a Committee Member and Secretary for Cancer Research Relay for Life Cornwall (Liskeard).
Her two children Teagan, 12 and Owen,10, witnessed their mum go through so much pain and are thankful for the treatment she received, they have also been heavily involved in volunteering with their mum.
Now she is urging mums, daughters, sisters and friends to join her and the formidable army of passionate women determined to take on cancer by entering a Race for Life 5k.
Claire explained: “The one thing that kept me going, to stay strong and positive for were my children.
“I said from the start of my treatment I didn't bring them into this world only to leave them at such an early age. The first few times at radiotherapy seemed quite easy but being on the table for such a long time for 6 weeks, I had to find something to focus on whilst lying there.
“My daughter Teagan, who was three at the time, had the cutest little bum wiggle ever and I used to lie there and think of that in my mind.”
“It was a terrible time and although I knew I would make it through I could only do it by taking each day at a time. My children got me through and now I am determined to show others that cancer can be beaten.”
Research has led to an improved understanding of the biology and causes of cancer. This in turn has led to discovering better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease - all helping to save lives.
Some of the landmark advances in treatment include tamoxifen for breast cancer and cisplatin for testicular cancer, developments which both involved Cancer Research UK researchers playing a key role.
Every day, around 90 people are diagnosed with cancer in the South West.
Alison Birkett, spokesman for Cancer Research UK in Plymouth, said: “Money raised through Race for Life is helping to drive research to help beat over 200 different types of cancer - that’s why every step, every person and every penny raised counts.”
To enter Race for Life today visit raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.
