Page 9 - BPW-UK - E-news - Edition 122 - June 2024 - PDF Format

Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma. - Neuroblastoma meaning cancer.
Stage 4 meaning it had spread throughout her little body.- High-risk meaning a 50/50 survival rate.
To be honest, this is all I can write about. The actual aftermath of the diagnosis…The last thirteen
months of treatment. The lengthy hospital stays. The grueling chemotherapy. The surgeries. The
barbaric nose-tube insertions. The hair loss. The missed milestones like her first day at school… It’s
too hard to look back on.
The hospital has been outstanding. No, it hasn’t been plain sailing. There have been mix-ups, mis-
communications, delays, and uncomfortable stays on broken sofa beds. But overall we can’t fault
them. Amazing people doing life-saving work in difficult conditions.
To thank them – and to protect my mental health – I trained for the Great North Run 5k last July. I
ran it for the Great North Children’s Hospital and raised over £3,000 for the cause.

This year, I want to go further, so I’m training
for the full Great North Run. It’s a half mara-
thon – 13 miles or 20kms, depending on how
you want to measure it – four times what I’m
used to. So far, my fundraising is going slower
than I do. But hopefully, it’ll pick up – like my
pace – nearer the time.
This time, I’m running in support of Children’s
Cancer North. They’re a Newcastle-based chari-
ty that provides the added extras families need
during cancer treatment.
For example, on Annabel’s cancer ward, they
fund faster WiFi, so the little ones can play
Annabel and Libby After the run!
games and pass the time.
They also pay for an animator who comes onto the ward fortnightly and helps the children make
cartoons. I can’t tell you how much this means – to the children and parents – who may be trapped
on the ward for weeks and months at a time. It really can feel like a prison sentence, with every day
feeling interminably slow and sad.

And – as you’ll see from the photos – they recently sent us to Centreparcs to relax and make happy
memories as a family.

If you’ve read this story, thank you. I know it's not easy. Like me, people often want to reach for
the remote and not hear the sad stuff. But I see now how important it is to share our stories. If it
hadn’t been for the brave mum sharing her story on Celebrity Bake Off – and David Schwimmer, of
course – I may not have pushed the hospital so hard for Annabel’s diagnosis. And she may not have
been here today.

It’s not all sad news. Annabel has responded amazingly well to treatment. We don’t want to tempt
fate, of course. But after over a year – comprising chemotherapy, high-dose chemotherapy, proton
therapy, multiple surgeries, and now immunotherapy – her odds are closer to 80/20.

Obviously, we’d prefer 100%. And she has life-
changing side effects she’ll have to deal with in
adulthood. But with this cancer, 100% isn’t on the
table. So we’re holding onto that 80% and hoping
she’s one of the lucky ones. In fact, we’re hoping all
of the children we’ve met on the ward are the lucky
ones because no family or child deserves to face the
alternative.

If anyone would like to sponsor me and help fund a
bit of fun for young cancer patients, you can do so at
https://ajbellgreatnorthrun2024.enthuse.com/
pf/libby-marks Thank you.