Debra Jamieson

Debra Jamieson has a personal connection to The Christie. In January 2019, her dad Bill sadly passed away at the hospital after living with prostate cancer for six years.

The support from The Christie during this difficult time was invaluable to Debra and her family. To show her support, she decided to take on The Christie charity’s Trek the Alps challenge.

Debra said: “My grief is still very raw but the trek has been a huge focus for me to turn my grief into gratitude. It felt amazing to help give something back to the place that helped us so much and to raise nearly £3,500 with my fundraising.

“It was such a great achievement and I am already planning what to do next to carry on fundraising.”

As an extra personal note, Bill’s retail display company UK POS had supported The Christie for many years. With several members of the UK POS team being treated at The Christie, the company has taken part in lots of events – from bike rides, running events and sports days to bake sales and a sponsored head shave.

The Trek the Alps event was an extra challenge for Debra as she has lupus, an autoimmune disease. The lupus causes Debra extreme joint and muscle pain, meaning she had to work particularly hard to complete the 46km trek through Italy, France and Switzerland.

Debra’s highlight from the Trek the Alps event was meeting all of the other people taking on the challenge, many for similar reasons as her. She said: “Sharing stories of remarkable treatments and the sad loss of loved ones, we were all united together by The Christie – the ‘comrades’.

Debra also wants to recommend taking on a challenge for The Christie like Trek the Alps to other supporters. She said: “The trek is really well organised and you will meet some amazing people. The support from the Christie preparing for the trek was fantastic, it was great to have the regular meeting and practice walks.”

Are you interested in taking part in an overseas challenge for The Christie? Read more about our upcoming events here.