Hospital appeal is on the march

Walkers (from left) Jean Lowe, Peter Fitton, Anne Fitton and Ian Lowe

FOUR friends have set the Christie at Oldham Campaign on the march after completing a gruelling coast-to-coast walk.

The Christie Hospital joined forces with the Chronicle to launch the appeal on Wednesday.

And it has already caught the imagination of locals who want a part in bringing world-class cancer treatment to the borough.

Peter Fitton (69) and his wife, Anne, pulled on their walking boots with husband and wife Ian and Jean Lowe, from Uppermill, to tackle the St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay coast to coast walk to say thank-you to those who helped them through a traumatic time.

The debutant long-distance walkers covered the 192-mile route to raise £3,802 in sponsorship — helping the £100,000 appeal off the ground.

The fund will help to pay for two £1.3 million linear accelerators which specialists will use to treat cancer patients from the new £17 million radiotherapy centre currently under construction.

The move will save 70 patients a day from Oldham from having to trek to the Christie Hospital in Withington for treatment.

Peter, from Thornham, had to make the journey two years ago when he was treated at the Christie for skin cancer.

He explained: “I had excellent treatment.

“When I was given the all-clear I wanted to give something back to the amazing people who looked after me. Everyone was so skilled and kind.

“This was the first time we’ve done anything like this, but it was a wonderful experience.Despite getting very wet, it was great to take in some of the finest scenery in the country while raising money for such a worthy cause. We made many friends along the way.”

The famous walk leads from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, starting at St. Bees head on the west coast and ending at Robin Hoods bay on the east coast.

Around two thirds of the walk is spent in the National Parks of the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire moors.

Jacky Plant, regional fund-raising officer for the Christie charity said: “Every step Peter and his friends took on this walk will help us take a step further to completing our new radiotherapy centre.

“We are so grateful for this donation which will help the Christie make a real difference to local cancer patients.”

Oldham’s radiotherapy centre will be the first in a network of satellite centres linked to the Christie, and will start treating patients at some point next year.

Currently, the Christie is the only centre in Greater Manchester and Cheshire to provide radiotherapy, a specialist procedure which uses high-energy radiation beams to destroy cancerous cells.