Caroline's Blog

Some people say that success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself - it's what you do for others.  And our volunteers are a true testament to this. Over 320 of them provide an invaluable service across our organisation, whether it’s giving out library books on the wards or escorting people when they don’t know where to go. An unpaid army who are priceless.

It was therefore great to attend our volunteers coffee morning this Saturday and have the opportunity for an informal chat.  It’s important to understand not just what motivates our volunteers to work at the Christie, but how we can support their work here. They are an inspiration and we need to care about them as much as they care about our patients.

And whilst I was having coffee with the volunteers, hundreds of students from all over the country and dressed as heroes and villains were out in the streets of Manchester collecting money for us. The bucket collections are part of our annual Christie’s Day which has been going for over 10 years. We’re hoping to raise almost £20,000 which will go towards our new schemes, particularly the new patient treatment centre, so thank you to every passer-by who put your hand in your pocket to support us.

I’m sure our supporters and volunteers will agree that it’s our staff who make the Christie so special. Not just their skill and experience, but their enthusiasm and dedication.  Stephen Anderson, one of our appeals officers is a good example.  A week after organising the glamorous Manhattan to Manchester Fundraising Ball, Stephen donned a Buzz Light-year outfit and trod the streets this Saturday shaking his charity bucket.  And in the same vein as Stephen is Eileen Walsh, one of our chemotherapy nurses who handed me a cheque this Saturday following an event she organised with her brother to raise money for The Christie and British Heart Foundation in memory of her mum who died of cancer. 

From staff to strangers……your generosity never ceases to amaze and humble me.  Thank-you.

It’s really important for us to deliver the best possible services to all our patients.  Recently I have been focusing on the waits for chemotherapy treatments and outpatients visits as many of our patients have to wait for their reviews and treatments by medical staff.  This happens for numerous reasons, but in the majority of cases this is due to the growing number of patients we see, complexity of treatment requirements and physical capacity in our clinics. The whole organisation is now focused on improving this experience for our patients without jeopardising patient care.  This is so important for us.

On a different note, our Manhattan to Manchester Fundraising Ball on Friday was a great success, so a huge thank you to everyone who supported us. 

I knew I had to appear dramatically different from how I looked when I crossed the finishing line at the New York Marathon in Central Park!  I popped down to our local hairdresser in Withington as it’s important to support local businesses and I actually plucked up the courage to have my hair cut in a new style.  I like to change my look, but its funny how changing your hairstyle can be a bit nerve-racking.  My hairdresser gave me the courage to do something different, so thank you Lee.

We all had a great night at the fundraising ball, but as with everything we do, the motivation and reason behind it is very serious.  Every pound raised for every step we took over the 26 miles of the New York Marathon will make a difference to our patients.  All my work as chief executive has the same aim in mind – to deliver the best possible care and treatment to patients – but this has been a more personal journey. It has highlighted the tremendous effort that our fundraisers go to, in their very different ways, to raise money for us. 

In times like this fundraising can seem like a marathon – it takes determination, dedication, a lot of hard work, and sometimes you’re faced with such obstacles you really do feel like you’re hitting the wall.  But the key thing is, it’s always, always worth it.  

Thanks to you we have now achieved our £26,000 target. Half of the money raised will go towards our major new Christie developments. The other half of the money raised tonight will support the Willow Foundation, a national charity who we work with that provides special days for seriously ill 16 to 40 year olds throughout the UK.

As always, we are very grateful.

It's still raining but its nice to be back in the swing of things in Manchester.

And the day job brings more variety than I could ever have as an aspiring athlete.

I was the guest speaker at Manchester High School's prize giving ceremony last week which was a real honour. Its exciting to talk to school children before they embark on their future careers. They have so many opportunities ahead of them and with passion and determination can achieve so much. Yesterday we hosted a visit for Ministers and health officials from China.  It was great to share our developments with them and to understand the issues they are dealing with in China.  In particular lung cancer is a huge problem for the population of China.  As part of the visit they met one of our leading lung specialists and were keen to exchange practices.  Exchanging knowledge and practices across continents makes my job so interesting and worthwhile.

Its easy to get totally consumed by work, so it was wonderful taking my mum Christmas shopping at the weekend!  My mum likes to be well organised for Christmas. She still lives in my home town of Kendal in the Lake District and has been a widow for many years. My role as a chief executive is important but my role as a mother, daughter and wife is irreplaceable. 

I'm very clear on my priorities in life but I do worry that I am sometimes too driven. Straight after the New York Marathon I told my husband that I'd never do it again, but as he predicted I'm already planning my next race!

I ache like I've never ached before but I did it! I completed the New York Marathon in four hours and 11 minutes and feel very proud.

It was so hard and I now know why they call it the ‘Everest Marathon’.

The fantastic atmosphere carried me for the last few miles, and it was exhilarating and emotional to be part of this amazing event. Fellow runners from all over the world, wacky outfits, live bands and brilliant spectators helped dull the pain.

I felt relief and joy as I came into Central Park at the end.  And well done Paula Radcliffe who led the marathon from start to finish and did the Brits proud. 

I was worried about how I'd perform as I've struggled with jetlag since arriving in New York and kept waking up throughout the night. But I'm so glad I came. The sense of achievement is immense.  And I’ve met some truly inspiring and wonderful people along the way.

Would I do it again? Well I have to admit that 24 hours after the race I am thinking about what to do next.

The whole focus behind this however is to raise money for our charity and the Willow Foundation which supports cancer sufferers. We've now got our Manhattan to Manchester Fundraising Ball on 14th November to look forward to. If you're interested in joining us for a celebratory evening, and all for a good cause, please contact Ste Anderson in our appeals office on 0161 918 7354. Lots of dancing but no running allowed. 

I'm now off to bathe my sore feet.