Helen, Jamie and Annabelle Thompson, Christie supporters

When Helen Thompson was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in early 2020, she was no stranger to cancer. Having previously worked as a nurse at The Christie, Helen had never expected to be the patient.

As she’d worked at The Christie, Helen knew she was in the best place to receive outstanding cancer care. And when she told her two children, Jamie and Annabelle, about her diagnosis, they decided they wanted to raise money for The Christie.

To challenge themselves, Jamie and Annabelle decided to cycle for 50 miles over a 3 week period, while Helen ran next to them. They did this mainly in 5 mile rides in their local area, sometimes to find the ice cream van!

Jamie and Annabelle set a fundraising target of £500 but quickly managed to beat that figure. Their fundraising efforts made them popular figures in the local area and they got lots of cheers and claps. And on their final ride, they were greeted with a roar of applause as they rode into the village!

Helen says she’s so proud of the two of them and that both children want to keep cycling with her when she runs.

“I am raising money for The Christie because COVID-19 has meant charities have lost sponsorship and my mum is going there quite a bit at the moment for her naughty tumour.”

- Jamie Thompson

“I want to raise money for The Christie because they’re wonderful.”

- Annabelle Thompson

“I decided to become a nurse after losing my dad to cancer 14 years ago at the age of just 47. He was a Christie patient. They were so wonderful that I told him before he died I would do that job one day.
"I am so incredibly proud of what my children are doing to raise money for this incredible NHS Trust.
"The aim was £500... the children raised £5,540 in the end! They were just amazing.
"After our challenge, we had a couple of weeks where we continued to collect donations, but they’re all in now. It was incredible just how many people donated!"

- Helen Thompson

Do you want to help The Christie keep moving for people with cancer? You can support our emergency appeal - we urgently need your help.