A book-keeper whose mum has beaten cancer and seven colleagues are investing their time and energy in the battle against the disease.
The group from Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors Coxeys, which has offices in Wrexham and Saltney, are training to take part in the fundraising 5k Chester Race for Life on July 20.
They range in age from 29 to 61 and are determined to net as much as they can to support Cancer Research UK.
“Some of us will be walking, others jogging, depending on how fit we are!” said Helen Salter, 31, whose mum, Maureen, was recently given the all clear from bowel cancer.
She was diagnosed about five years ago, but it was two years before that when she first went to a doctor.
Helen explained: “It took two years for doctors to realise what it was, as mum didn’t fall into the band of patients typically susceptible to bowel cancer. She was only in her 40s, whereas patients with this type of cancer are often older, and mum’s only symptom was anaemia.
“She then started to tire out easily, which at first was put down to her age and the menopause. But as a family we knew she wasn’t her usual self and we kept pushing her to go back to the doctors. A scan eventually showed up a tumour and she underwent surgery to have a section of her bowel removed.”
Fortunately Helen’s mum did not require radiotherapy and, now aged 55, she is back at work at Sainsbury‘s in Crosby, Liverpool. But the effects of the cancer scare have left their mark on the family.
Helen works for the Business Essentials book-keeping arm at Coxeys which provides a small business start-up service as well as doing payroll and VAT.
She said: “We cannot stress enough to people how important it is to get checked out no matter how small a symptom may seem. If cancer can be caught early enough then the chances of survival are so much greater.
“Mum is not the only member of our family to have suffered. My grandfather – mum’s dad – also had bowel cancer, and an aunt died following cancer of the oesophagus. It’s something our whole family are very aware of. That’s why when the opportunity came to join this year’s Race for Life, I was among the first in line to join the Coxeys team. The more funds we can raise to help beat this killer disease the better.”
Helen’s dad, Alan, is a security supervisor at John Moore’s University,
Liverpool, and she has a brother, Andrew.
“They’ll definitely be cheering us all on in spirit even if they can’t all make it on the actual race day,” said Helen, who plans to briskly walk the course, starting at Chester racecourse and following a route round the city centre.
She said: “This is my first Race for Life, but I hope to do it again and by next year be fit enough to run round.”
Though her family are from Liverpool, Helen and boyfriend, Ian McAllister, have just bought their first house in Buckley. She has worked at Coxey for 18 months. As well as its Wrexham headquarters, the firm also has premises in Saltney, Chester.
Helen’s co-worker, Sue Barkley, Business Essentials deputy manager, said: “Several of the team have done the Wrexham Race for Life before so this year for a change we decided to give the Chester course a try.“
Sue, 61, and husband, Bernard, live in Gwernaffield, near Mold, and have six children between them.
“I’ve also 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild,” said Sue, who plans on a jog-walk approach. “I enjoyed it so much last year, the atmosphere was so good and it’s a great way to fundraise for such an important cause. Most of us know someone who has either suffered themselves or has a family member facing the trauma of cancer so this is our way of supporting them.”
The group have set a fundraising target of £250, but Business Essentials manager, Helen Mort, 32, who has completed a Race for Life three times before, said: “That’s our goal, but if we can raise more than that we’ll be over the moon. Work colleagues and friends are sponsoring us and we’ll also set up a JustGiving website so anyone can donate to the cause.”
Helen lives in Gwersyllt with husband, Mike, and two daughters, Chloe, five and Isabella, two.
She said: “A few of us have small children which means it can be hard to fit in a co-ordinated exercise regime, so we’re all trying to do train individually.”
Business Essentials team member, Jeanette Jones, 49, has two daughters, Laura, 14 and Catherine, 20, and will be bringing Laura along with her.
“She wanted to support us the best way she could – and that was by joining in,” said Janette, whose her family, including husband, Russell, live in Wrexham.
Also in the energetic team are Coxey tax department manager and Race for Life first-timer Laura Watkins, 34, who lives in Wrexham with partner, Alan, and their two year old son, Thomas; and accounts practitioners: Rhian Williams, 29, of Pentre Broughton; Amy Bell, 30, who lives in Chirk, with husband, Stuart and two year old daughter, Abbie; and Joanne Evans, 37, who lives in Borras with husband, Neil, and two children, Mia, aged three and Callum, seven.
Anybody wanting to make a donation can do so via the JustGiving link www.justgiving.com/team-coxeys-2014
