FUNDRAISING FOR A FRIEND

A WIGAN mum is taking on triathlon and sky dive challenges in memory of a friend she met while the two of them were being treated for breast cancer.

Emily Makin, 31, from Pemberton is raising money in memory of Rebecca Caunce who died in 2020 aged 26 in the care of the inpatient unit.

Emily and Rebecca met in 2018 when both were having treatment at Wigan cancer care unit after being diagnosed within a few months of each other.

 

There for each other

Mum to two boys aged 4 and 6, Emily said: “It’s difficult to find people who know how you are feeling but there was a group of six of us who would message each other on WhatsApp about our pain and how we were feeling. Becca was there for me emotionally and mentally and I hope I was there for her too.

“I didn’t know her for very long really – only two years – but we were proper friends because we understood each other and she means a lot to me. She was a nice person and I don’t think you find that type of person very often.

“We were thrown into this horrible situation and then to find friends and positivity out of it is fantastic. I miss Rebecca so much. I would pick up the phone and panic because I’ve got a headache and thought the cancer had returned; she would talk to me and she’d understand.”

Emily, who works as a residential support worker and is married to Andrew, was 27 when she got her diagnosis and Becca was 24.

Emily had a mastectomy, chemotherapy and went to Salford Royal for radiotherapy. In July this year she will be four years clear of cancer.

 

Going to the hospice

In October 2018 Becca, who grew up in Platt Bridge, was diagnosed. She had chemotherapy, a mastectomy, radiotherapy and then was given the all clear. However, in May 2020 she began feeling sickly and dizzy. A few months later it was found that the cancer had returned – this time as a secondary cancer in her brain. She went into the hospice on October 3rd 2020 and passed away there ten days later.

Emily said: “I speak to Becca’s mum Joanne quite often to see how she is and asked her if it would be OK if I did something in memory of Becca.

“Joanne has told me how amazing everyone at the hospice was to the family. Covid made Becca’s situation worse but Joanne said the staff did so much for her and Jordan – Becca’s fiancé – so they could be there with Becca and that’s massive. The family were always at the forefront of their minds.

“A job like that isn’t done by people who want to pay the bills; they’ve got a lot of heart to do a job like that and I want to make sure I can get the hospice some funds to keep doing that.”

Emily is going to do a sprint triathlon which is a 750m swim, 18.4km bike ride and 5 km run on June 11th in Leeds and the hospice is organising a sky dive on June 18th.

The other women from the Emily’s and Becca’s friendship group are all in recovery.

 

Passionate

Emily is passionate about campaigning for men and women to check themselves regularly.

She said: “I’m trying to push people to check themselves for cancer because I got it at 27. I was doing Lose Weight Feel Great with Wigan Council, I had started running, I had been married for three and half months, I was fitter than I’ve ever been and I thought ‘how has this happened to me?’ but you can be 18 or 80 and you can still get it.”

The day of her mastectomy Emily passed her driving theory test in the morning just three days before her 28th birthday.

In July 2021 Joanne let the hospice tell Rebecca’s story as part of the Urgent Care Appeal to support the hospice’s fundraising efforts after the impact of COVID-19. So far, the campaign has raised over £71,000.

To support Emily’s fundraising see: www.justgiving.com/remember/937653/Rebecca-Caunce

Anyone interested in taking part in the sky dive can sign up at wlh.org.uk or email: fundraising@wlh.org.uk