Store staff feeling on top of the world after colleague's cancer care inspires fundraising challenge

There is no mountain too high for staff at a Neath sportswear store who rallied round when one of their team was diagnosed with cancer.

They not only did all they could to support Karen Mills personally, but also to thank the South West Wales Cancer Centre where she was treated.

Thankfully, Karen – accounts manager at Macron Sports Hub in Neath – is doing well after months of treatment.

And now she and her colleagues have donated just shy of £1,600 to say thanks to staff at the cancer centre in Swansea’s Singleton Hospital.

They raised the money in a variety of ways, with the main event a sponsored team climb of Pen Y Fan – and with more to come next year.

The South West Wales Cancer Centre, or SWWCC, is run by Swansea Bay University Health Board and provides a range of lifesaving NHS treatments such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.

It celebrates its 20^th anniversary this year and a fundraising appeal has been launched by Swansea Bay Health Charity, the health board’s official charity, to commemorate the landmark.

The appeal, Going the Extra Mile for Cancer, will support the thousands of patients from the Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda areas who are cared for there every year, as well as relatives and staff.

Follow this link if you want to support the Going the Extra Mile for Cancer appeal.

Karen, from Briton Ferry, has been a patient at the SWWCC after being diagnosed with breast cancer in January this year.

“I started chemo in March,” she said. “I had to have 12 weeks of weekly chemo and then another 12 weeks of cycles of every three weeks.

“That took me to around the end of August. Then I had to have a lumpectomy. But the chemo had done the job. It had actually got rid of the tumour.

“I’ve just finished radiotherapy but I’m still on immunotherapy and that’s every six weeks. That will take me into April.

“I’d doing marvellous. You know, tired, but I’ve managed to work from home. Everybody has rallied around to support me.”

Karen described the care provided in the Chemotherapy Day Unit, and by all the SWWCC staff who looked after her, as fantastic.

She had similar praise for the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, where she had her surgery after the team that originally diagnosed her cancer switched locations. “I cannot fault the NHS at all,” she added.

Pictured left to right: Natalie Dyer, director; Eleanor Clarke, quality control; Nathan Crockett, operations manager; Karen Mills, accounts manager; Hubert Bachowski, warehouse operator; Jess Jones, embroidery operator; Carl Bradley, store manager.

Store manager Carl Bradley said the feedback from Karen while she was undergoing treatment inspired their fundraising efforts.

“We wanted to do a challenge and decided on Pen Y Fan,” he said. “We wanted to give something back for all the great support and how Karen was looked after while she was going through her treatment. It was the least we could possibly do.

“It was a real team effort. There were around 20 of us in total, though a few didn’t do the climb. It was going to be a double challenge. I was going to be doing Snowdonia but due to the weather, it was called off.

“But it’s something that I am going to be doing next year, and I still want to do it for the cancer unit.

“We are just so grateful for everything the centre has done and supported Karen right through her treatment. We are grateful she has come out the other side and has been given the all-clear.

“For us it was an amazing effort and we’re so glad to be able to support something local which as a team we are proud to do.”

Store directors Natalie and Andy Dyer donated half a dozen Wales and Ospreys shirts, which were signed in-store by Justin Tipuric and Jac Morgan. There was also a bucket collection at Neath RFC.

The total raised was £1,590.62, which has been donated to the Going the Extra Mile for Cancer appeal.

“We never thought we would raise that much,” said Carl.  “If there is anything else we can possibly do as a team effort within Macron, we will do to support the cancer centre. It’s a fantastic place.”

Karen said she was hugely impressed with the fundraising, especially the effort put in to the Pen Y Fan walk.

“They had already rallied round me, spoiling me. And then Carl put this together,” she added. “I couldn’t do the walk myself, but we went to see them coming down. It was lovely.

“We took them pasties and sausage rolls, and we were thrilled to bits because they had raised this money as well. It was a fantastic effort by everyone. It was brilliant – so thank you.”