Page 10 - Inspire_SpringSummer_DigitalEdition

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

As a charity, we wouldn’t get very far without our supporters.They help fund everything
we do, they help raise awareness, they volunteer their free time, all with one shared aim
– to beat the UK’s biggest cancer killer. Inspire caught up with two very special people –
patient advocate Brian Gemmell and fundraiser extraordinaire Pam Millard who kindly
shared why they do what they do.

Brian’s story

“I didn’t have what are considered your ‘common’ lung cancer symptoms. My initial symptom was clubbing of the fingers;
the tips of my fingers were swelling up all the time. I googled it – as you do – and a respiratory problem flagged up. I
went to my GP and he sent me for a chest x-ray that same day.

“I started to get concerned when I overheard the x-ray technician call for a radiographer. I was sent for a CT scan and
they found an advanced tumour in my right lung.The consultant was talking about a definitive biopsy but the surgeon just
said no, the right lung was coming out - and so it did, all of it.

“I didn’t know a lot about lung cancer before my diagnosis. Understandably, the temptation is just to google things.
Google can be good but it can also be very bad so it’s really important people use sites like Roy Castle Lung Cancer
Foundation to get the correct information and facts.

“I first became involved with the charity after my surgery. I received an email
about a lung cancer information day in Glasgow and decided I wanted to go. It
was great; it was a fantastic opportunity to speak to people in similar situations
to myself.There were also good guest speakers. It was really helpful.

“Since then I’ve been actively involved with the charity, helping
to raise awareness about lung cancer. I was asked to do a reading
at their Celebrate a Life service which was quite emotional but well
worth it when you see the reaction.

“I’d recommend anyone becoming a patient advocate. It’s a
fantastic charity, the only one dedicated to lung cancer.The
more people that promote it and do things for them, the more the
charity can do to bring lung cancer to the forefront.”

Our advocates do so much to support our work, and there are many different ways in which you can get
involved, from speaking at one of our Lung Cancer Information Days to running a lung cancer awareness stall at
your local hospital, joining our reader panel or even sharing your story here in Inspire.

wForwmwor.erionfyorcmaastitonleab.oourtgbe/acodmvinogcaapatteient or carer advocate, please visit:

10 Inspire 2017