Women in line for award for giving a '˜hug' to breast cancer sufferers

Judith Wright, Sue McCoy, and Eileen Richardson have been hailed as saviours for setting up a service to help people at one of the most difficult times in their lives.

Out of the “goodness of their own hearts”, they put together bags which are filled with goodies which could be useful to patients.

It includes eyebrow definer, a pashmina, and heart cushions which prove invaluable for patients to put under their arm for comfort as they heal.

And what’s even more remarkable is, these wonderful women do all this having gone through their own battles with breast cancer in the past.

Now, the trio have been nominated for a Sunderland Echo Health award for their Hug In A Bag project.

Yet modest Judith admitted “We all have different stories to tell but it is not about our stories. It is about giving something back to Sunderland Hospital.”

The nomination said: “These ladies deserve recognition for the work they do behind the scenes.”

Hug in a Bag was set up almost 10 years ago by Eileen, Judith and Sue after they met in hospital.

Since then, they’ve delivered bags packed with useful information and luxury treats to nearly 2,000 women in the Sunderland area who have gone through the same illness.

HUG stands for Help, Understanding, Glamour - the very things the three ladies felt were important to the people they were helping.

“These ladies are the unsung heroes,” the nomination added.

The Sunderland Echo Health awards aim is being held in association with City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, with NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group as partner sponsors and Olivers Dental Studio as category sponsors.

The best contenders will make it to our grand finals at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on April 14. Before then, you can nominate up to the deadline of March 31.

So make sure our unsung heroes get the limelight they deserve by putting forward your favourites for an award.

To nominate, visit www.jpne-events.co.uk.