A helping hand

ON March 18, Julie Dunn was a happy 44-year-old, enjoying life with her long-term partner and their eight-year-old daughter.

The next day, her world was shattered when she found a lump in her breast.

Julie’s worst fears were confirmed when doctors told her she had cancer.

The Failsworth mum was plunged into a whirlwind world of hospital tests and treatment.

Julie felt so low she refused to go out of the house . . . that was until she discovered Oldham Cancer Support Centre — a service run entirely by volunteers.

And Julie says the facility is absolutely vital.

She explained why to reporter Marina Berry.
“EVERYTHING happened so quickly after I found a lump in my breast,” recalled Julie.

“I went to see my doctor who sent me to the breast clinic at Fairfield Hospital. I was given a mammogram, which was clear. But an ultrasound showed a mass.

“A surgeon explained he wanted me to have a biopsy because of the inconsistency. I had it that night — all this happened within a week of finding the lump.”

Julie then faced a wait of several days for the results.

“Everyone tried to stop me worrying by saying it was probably a cyst. I pretended it wasn’t a problem — I let my guard down,” she said.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer it was a huge shock.”

Julie’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40, as were her two sisters.

Aggressive

“My mum was dead by the time she was 45. Although it was 31 years ago and I know things have moved on, I was filled with fear,” said Julie.

“A lot of it was irrational, but I couldn’t help it.”

Julie had the tumour and lymph nodes removed on April 21. She is now undergoing chemotherapy, which will be followed by four weeks of radiotherapy.

Because the tumour was aggressive, she has also been prescribed breast cancer drugs tamoxifen and herceptin. Julie’s frightening experience robbed her of her confidence. She refused to go out of the house, in Hampton Road.

“I had alopecia as a child, so the thought of losing my hair brought it all back,” she said.

“I had flashbacks. I know it’s irrational but I started to think people would pull off a wig or a hat if I wore one, because that’s what used to happen at school.

“I didn’t have any confidence at all. I worked out that my treatment would be finished for Christmas, and how long it would take for my hair to grow at so many centimetres a week. It took me up to 12 months so I was adamant I wasn’t going to go out of the house until the year was up,” she said.

Julie’s partner Graham Bill and their daughter Melissa, now aged nine, did their best to encourage her to go out.

“I don’t drive,” said Graham, “so we used to make up all sorts of excuses to try and get Julie to drive us somewhere.”

Around two months after Julie had surgery, Graham bumped into a relative, Barbara Dawson.

He told her about Julie, and discovered she was a counsellor at Oldham Cancer Support Centre, which is based on the top floor of Failsworth Health Centre, which just happened to be holding an open day. She took me along. The people who run the centre invited me in and told me what they did. They gave me leaflets and a telephone number to give to Julie,” he said.

“I freaked out when Graham came home,” remembered Julie. “I thought I was expected to go. I didn’t want to. Eventually, I gave them a call.

“I spoke to Chris Hoyle. He sounded like a nice chap, so I agreed to go with Graham as a one-off, just to satisfy everyone. I thought I would probably never go again.”

Comforting

But the minute she walked through the door, Julie felt as if she had walked into a haven.

“I loved the feeling of the place, I felt calm and safe, and I was offered therapies such as reflexology and reiki,” she said. I had a drink and a chat. Everyone was comforting and supportive. I have been coming ever since. The difference in only half an hour here is amazing. It just turns everything around.

“I didn’t realise how much of a mental battle it would be. The physical side is hard, but it’s the mental side that’s most challenging.

“It felt like I was bobbing about in the ocean. The centre threw me a lifeline — something to cling on to. It gives some structure to my week. They are helping to put me back together. They are all volunteers. It’s a credit to them that they can be so kind and giving to people they don’t even know. They are amazing.”

Oldham Cancer Support Centre was the brainchild of former joiner and decorator Chris Hoyle, who quickly discovered a huge void in support when he was diagnosed with leukaemia. He spent hours home alone as his early treatment took its toll.

“As time passed I just had to learn to live with my illness,” he recalled.

“Health workers were busy looking after those in the early stages of their illness. They didn’t have the time to spend with people like me who had been diagnosed earlier.”

Chris began an exhausting journey to raise money to fund a cancer centre and enlisted the help of an army of volunteers to run it.

“We don’t get any outside funding at all,” he said. “No-one is paid. Volunteers do everything from fund-raising, manning the centre five-days-a-week and collecting people without transport, to providing counselling and therapy. Fund-raisers have to bring in at least £30,000 a year to cover running costs.”

The next fund-raiser is a four-course charity luncheon at the White Hart, Lydgate, on Sunday, September 21. Tickets, priced £30, are available from the centre on 0161-906 2940.