In January 2017 Imogen’s father John was diagnosed with blood cancer. Whilst John was receiving hospital treatment, he came across a CancerCare leaflet which opened up a raft of support to help his family come to terms with what was happening in their world.

John, his wife Angela and daughter Imogen decided to come to us for therapy at our Lancaster and Kendal Centres.

John and Angela were referred for Alexander Technique, a form of physical therapy that can help boost relaxation and relieve stress and it also became another way the couple could bond together during the difficult times they were going through. Meanwhile, Imogen began sessions with our specialist children’s play therapists which allowed her to process what was going on in her world, talk about how she felt, and be creative with art materials

Two years after a stem-cell transplant, John caught a chest infection which attacked his immune system and he sadly passed away in 2020 aged just 47.

Since then, Imogen has thrown herself into a variety of exciting fundraising challenges both to raise money for CancerCare and honour her dad’s memory. Over the last two years Imogen has raised over £500 to help support the charity and the people who need our services.

The pupils at Imogen’s school, Highfield Priory near Preston, were asked to suggest a charity close to their hearts to be nominated as the school’s Charity of the Year. That night Imogen rushed home and within 10 minutes she had written down her reasons on why CancerCare should be chosen.

Thanks to Imogen, CancerCare was selected alongside eight other charities for a school vote and Imogen bravely stood in front of an audience of more than 200 people and spoke passionately about why they should choose us as their charity of the year.

Here is a short passage from Imogen’s speech:

“When I was four my dad was diagnosed with an illness called cancer and everyone in my household was upset. Luckily, a year later when my dad stayed in hospital for a long time, I joined CancerCare. CancerCare helped me learn and understand what was happening by play. CancerCare always says “To have the strength to step forward” and this is how I am here today to tell you about this wonderful charity.”

Imogen’s speech was so inspirational, the pupils and teachers at the school decided that CancerCare was the charity they would like to support as their Charity of the Year!

“At first, I felt nervous to stand up in front of everyone, but I’m used to performing and pushed those nerves to the back of my mind. Seeing everyone smiling whilst giving me a round of applause made me feel super proud of what I had just done. Afterwards all my school friends and teachers were saying ‘well done’ which was really nice,” said Imogen.

Thank you Imogen for your continuous support and helping to spread the CancerCare word even further so we can help even more families in need of our help.