Sunderland family raise almost £15,000 for charity after mum was diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic aged 30

Sammy Jo Noble, from Easington Lane, endured a Grade 3 invasive ductal breast cancer diagnosis at the start of the pandemic.

She underwent an operation to remove the cancer followed by a course of radiotherapy and will need to continue a course of medication for the next 10 years.

Unfortunately, following Sammy Jo’s diagnosis, her grandad also received the devastating news that he had cancer too.

Sammy Jo said: “We are a very close family and we’ve all been devastated by my grandad’s cancer diagnosis. With my cancer journey I’m fortunate that the cancer has not spread and from initial diagnosis I was operated on within a matter of weeks and responded well to radio therapy.

“It’s been incredibly hard as I suffer from anxiety and although I was told I could have a scan in lockdown I put it off for a period of time as I was terrified the cancer might have spread and worried about the implications for my family.”

But despite these overwhelming personal challenges Sammy Jo - along with her husband Craig and children Josh, 11, and Ben, 15 – have continued to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Since 2020, the family has held a charity ball at Ramside Hall, where more than 200 guests attended, and organised fundraising events including two successive Macmillan Sober October challenges and various raffles raising £6,750 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Both Sammy Jo’s sons have also been involved in fundraising, with Josh organising a cake sale with his nana Lorraine Woods and Ben completing a 16-mile cycling challenge to Hartlepool and back with his grandad Joe Woods, generating almost £7,000 for the Chemotherapy ward at University Hospital of North Durham, part of the hospital trust Sammy Jo worked for.

A crucial part of Sammy Jo’s rehabilitation has been the support she has received from Macmillan Joining The Dots, a community-based free support service for anyone over 18 diagnosed with cancer.

Sammy Jo said: “I would say to anyone living with anxiety, especially following a cancer diagnosis like mine to talk to someone about it. Chloe Shaw at Joining The Dots has supported me initially over the phone during Covid for more than a year and I’ve gone from needing to talk to her once a week to now having monthly catch ups as I’ve made a lot of progress.

“I had to stop work in the residential home whilst I underwent treatment and was fortunate that Craig has been able to work so we didn’t need some of the financial assistance on offer at Macmillan like the support grants.”

She added: “I would definitely have applied for one had we needed too; so I would urge people to reach out to Macmillan if they are struggling with finances particularly at the moment with the energy crisis deepening.”

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