Carly and Isla, Christie fundraisers

This month, we’re putting Carly and Isla in our fundraiser hall of fame.

Carly decided she wanted to take on an unusual challenge for The Christie after being diagnosed with cancer. 

Carly was first diagnosed with stage 2 cervical cancer back in 2017. Stage 2 cervical cancer is when the cancer cells have grown outside the cervix, into the surrounding tissues.

After radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy treatment, Carly got the brilliant news that her cancer had gone into remission.

Just 2 years later, following a full body scan, Carly was sadly diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cervical cancer. This meant that the cancer had spread to distant lymph nodes and tragically, that it couldn’t be cured.

Carly then had chemotherapy to manage the symptoms of the cancer and had surgery. She was again told her cancer was under control.

But in October 2020, it was discovered that Carly had reoccurring cancer again in distant lymph nodes. Carly then needed more chemotherapy to treat this.

To give back to The Christie for supporting her throughout her treatment, Carly and her friend Isla decided to take on an open water swimming challenge dressed as mermaids. They took on 4 fancy dress open water swims, one of which was in minus temperatures in the snow!

“The swims were definitely a big challenge especially in the freezing cold water and it took a lot of willpower to get into the water – but it was so worth it for such a worthy cause. The Christie has helped me so much. They’re opening doors for more treatment.
“Whilst I can’t be “cured”, my life can be prolonged thanks to these treatments. The Christie run clinical trials for people in situations similar to myself, those who are battling metastatic incurable cancers.
“These trials bring hope to patients and their loved ones. The trials offer new treatments giving people like me a chance to live longer and in hope that one day there will be a cure!”

  - Carly, Christie fundraiser

Carly and Isla exceed their £800 target and raised an amazing £1,300. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Carly and Isla for their fantastic efforts to support The Christie charity.

Would you like to fundraise for The Christie charity? Speak to the charity team on 0161 446 3988 or see how you can get involved with fundraising.