Team Sasha appeal for help to kick cancer into touch!

A CHIEF stoker onboard the Frigate HMS Monmouth currently docked in Plymouth is calling for more teams to support the Liskeard Relay for Life on 23rd May.

Joff Lucas aged 45, serving on HMS Monmouth, is entering a team of six colleagues into the Liskeard Relay for Life  in memory of his fiancé who he tragically lost to cervical cancer has put a team of six colleagues together for the event. 

“I want to do everything I possibly can to kick cancer into touch and stop people dying from this horrible disease.” says Joff.

He added:  “I’m lucky that HMS Monmouth is in Plymouth at the moment, which gives me the opportunity to take part in this fantastic event & raise as much as I can for the research”.

Sasha Durnall was just 33 when she lost her battle with cervical cancer.  She was first diagnosed when a lump appeared in 2008.  She made an appointment to see the doctor, which resulted in her having a cyst removed.  It was during this procedure that it was discovered that Sasha had cervical cancer.  Sasha had various courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and took part in a Clinical Trial,  but sadly she lost the battle in October 2013, five years after diagnosis.

Joff,  with Liskeard Company serving on HMS Monmouth, was engaged to Sasha for six years.  He is fundraising in her memory with ‘Team Sasha’ by having a coffee morning for the staff at Devonport Dockyard on board the ship, and amongst other things holding a collection on the Torpoint Ferry .

Liskeard Relay for Life Chair, Jason Brockman said: “We are delighted that Joff is entering his team this year.  It’s stories like Joff’s which really inspire us to make the event  even bigger & better this year.  We would urge teams to sign up straight away & really get involved in this amazing experience.  If you can’t enter a team – come along on the day & support us!’

Cancer Research UK’s Relay For Life is a unique celebration of life and hope which unites communities to help beat cancer and culminates in a fantastic family and team experience.

Team members take it in turns to walk round a track while everyone else enjoys the carnival atmosphere. As the event continues non-stop through the night, team members not on the track take turns to rest, eat, or sleep in their tents, which are set up close by.

As dusk falls, the atmosphere quietens as the Candle of Hope ceremony begins. The event is the most poignant part of Relay For Life when specially made Candle of Hope bags decorated with touching messages – in memory or in celebration of loved ones - are filled with sand and lit up with candles at the Liskeard Rugby Football Club site.

Relay For Life participants raise as much money as possible , through a wide range of activities from karaoke competitions to quizzes, supermarket bag-packs to charity balls, and securing donations from friends, family and work colleagues.

For more information on how to enter Relay For Life visit www.cruk.org/relay or call 0300 123 1026. Or contact the Relay For Life Liskeard Chairman on 07971666121.