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A keen photographer and cancer survivor from St Annes on Sea is one of 12 winners of a photo competition organised by The Christie charity and Cheshire Life to provide stunning photographs for display on the walls of The Christie’s new cancer centre in Macclesfield.
Esther Parkinson, 47, took a spectacular photo of the Walk of Hope in Tatton Park which will be blown up for display in The Christie at Macclesfield when it opens to patients in December 2021. Esther has previously been treated for cancer at The Christie and was taking part in the annual fundraising walk in Tatton Park when she took the photo of The Walk of Hope, one of The Christie’s key fundraising events.
Esther’s winning photo will also be used in a calendar being printed by The Christie charity to help raise funds for the £26m cancer centre which is being funded through £23m of charitable donations. The Tatton Park trees will feature for the month of September.
Commenting on the win, Esther said: “I am currently being treated for secondary breast cancer but continue to receive top class and cutting edge treatment at The Christie. Their knowledge and experience are second to none.
“I am thrilled to have been one of the winners of the photo competition and hope that patients and visitors to the new Christie at Macclesfield site will enjoy my photo and the other 11 winners on display in the centre.
“I was inspired to take the photo because the beaming sunshine through the trees really caught my eye and I just had to take a picture. It gave me a sense of serenity and signified to me – hope, as is the title of The Christie’s annual fundraising walk in Tatton Park.”
The My Cheshire Life photo competition was launched in May 2021 and ran until the end of September. The aim was to find a range of images that would be inspiring and uplifting for patients and visitors to The Christie at Macclesfield based on the theme of ‘how we live our best Cheshire life’.
The 12 winning photos cover local landmarks, wildlife, country scenes, town centres, visitor attractions and parks and open spaces.
Liz Williams from The Christie charity added: “The standard of entries throughout was superb and choosing a final 12 winners was a huge challenge. We want to thank all those who entered the competition, there were more than 100 entries in total. We are also incredibly grateful to Cheshire Life for partnering with us to run the competition and for their work this year to help raise awareness of The Christie at Macclesfield.”
Cheshire Life editor Joanne Goodwin said: “The competition brought in some fabulous images that will not only make for a fantastic 2022 calendar but will create a beautiful welcome for visitors to The Christie at Macclesfield. Look out in the November issue for the winners – and other entries will feature in the magazine next year.”
The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 patients a year. This ambitious project is bringing together essential cancer services into one purpose built centre delivering local specialist access to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, holistic support and information services, outpatient care, palliative care and a wider range of clinical trials than at present.
The new cancer centre will accommodate 46,000 patient visits per year including 12,500 radiotherapy treatments and around 6,800 chemotherapy and haematology treatments.
The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.