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An entire village in Norfolk fundraising for Addenbrooke’s described as ‘one of a kind’

Posted on by Danni Smith

An entire village whose residents have thrown themselves into a year’s worth of fundraising for Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge has been praised for being ‘one of a kind.’ 

Paul Wilby, from Denton in Norfolk, launched his fundraising appeal in January to raise money for Addenbrooke’s Hospital, via Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), as well as Papworth Hospital, after his son became ill with an undiagnosed condition. 

Ben, 34, had been suffering with severe breathlessness for about three years, and had to stop a couple of times to catch his breath every time he climbed a flight of stairs. However, after being encouraged by a paramedic, who had been called out to his home, to keep investigating his condition, Ben was found to have something called Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension caused by blood clots on his lungs. 

He underwent a lifesaving procedure known as a Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty at Papworth Hospital where a balloon was used to push scar tissue to one side, allowing the blood to flow properly again, which returned Ben’s breathing to normal. 

Since starting their fundraising earlier this year, the villagers of Denton have raised just shy of ÂŁ2,000 with events including Easter Bingo; a Tractor Run; Party on the Meadow; Walking Football; and a Plough Day, where 45 tractors from neighbouring villages drove to Hardwick Airfield before returning to Denton to plough five fields in the village. 

Paul White, Director of Communications and Impact at ACT, said: “In all the 20 years I have been working in the charity sector, I don’t think I have ever heard of a whole village mucking in and fundraising like this. It’s only a small village but for everyone to get involved in this way is amazing. Denton really is one of a kind.” 

Fundraiser Paul, a builder who also runs a self-catering accommodation at his home in the village, has lived in Denton for eight years, and said: “It’s like going back 50 years here. Everyone helps everyone else out. If you want or need anything, someone in the village will help. It is a proper community.” 

His wife, Karen, who has lived in the village for nearly 30 years, said: “Literally everybody in the village has been involved with fundraising. Everyone. Everyone comes along and supports things and will chuck money in a pot and if they can’t come, they’ll come and see us and say, ‘sorry we can’t make it but here’s ÂŁ20.’ So if they’re not involved in volunteering, they’re involved by supporting it, giving money or donating raffle prizes. But that’s the type of place Denton is. People keep an eye on each other which is how it should be.” 

The village, which has a population of 326, runs a monthly dinner night and lunch club for residents and also opens up its village hall every Friday night as a social club.  

However, Paul’s latest fundraising venture could cause a few blushes outside the village – with the production of their very own Full Monty-style calendar, where fifteen of the local male residents volunteered to pose naked, with strategically placed items protecting their dignity, all for charity. 

Paul said the recruits came via the village’s Google Group Chat – with photos from the calendar revealed at a special gala night in the village on November 2nd.

He said the calendar doesn’t come with a warning on the front – only with a note at the back to say ‘no Dream Boys or animals were injured during the filming of this calendar’ – but Paul says the front cover ‘gives you a gist of what to expect inside.’ 

Willing contributors include March’s ‘Naked Gardener’ whose dignity is protected by a pitchfork; April’s ‘Rocking Ricky’ who climbed a hay bale to pose naked with a guitar; and Paul himself, who despite being married to Karen, features as July’s ‘Hilary’s Hunk’. 

Explaining the name, Paul said it relates to one of the more memorable moments from the photo shoots.  

“It was my job on all the photo shoots to stand guard to prevent any embarrassing moments with the public walking into a field where we were taking photos. But on my photo shoot, this lady walked into the field to tell us our donkeys had escaped and saw me naked. Luckily she was a retired nurse so had seen it all before, but literally the only thing I was holding in my hand was a chicken so we decided to call my photo Hilary’s Hunk after her.” 

Paul’s wife, Karen, also features on the back of the calendar fully dressed but rounding up the chickens and sheep for Paul’s photo. “But as you know, that doesn’t really work with animals, so we had quite a few laughs doing the shoot,” Paul said. 

All the photos were taken by village resident Mark Richards, a retired Daily Mail photographer who moved to the village three years ago.  

“Everyone in Denton has welcomed us with open arms,” Mark said, adding: “As for the calendar, it has been an absolute ball. I’ve seen more naked men in the last six months than I have my entire life and there were no shrinking violets!”

Asked if the calendar was a reflection of how much fun Denton was as a village, Paul’s wife Karen said: “Life in Denton is as close to the Vicar of Dibley as you can get. They’re all nutcases here, every one of them!” 

Apart from the bloopers on the back of the calendar, other humorous touches include a photo of one of the oldest residents who at 82 volunteered a little late, so was put in  stocks, with the caption – ‘This is what happens when you don’t get your pants off!” 

Paul hopes to boost the fundraising tally with ticket sales from the gala night – which was sold out – along with sales of the calendar. His son, Ben, did a talk on the night before the big reveal when all the residents got to see the calendar for the first time.

Fundraising will finish with Christmas Bingo in December and a fundraising raffle for ACT at a speed dating event in the village the same month. 

Asked what’s next, Paul replied: “The girls are talking about doing a calendar next year along the lines of what we’ve done, but who knows.” 

Five hundred copies of the Denton Dream Boys calendar have been printed off, with 143 pre-orders already. Copies of the now-famous calendar (as featured on ITV and BBC Breakfast) cost ÂŁ15 on ebay and can be ordered here.

Paul’s Just Giving Page can be found here: . Crowdfunding to donate to Addenbrookes and Papworth Hospital on JustGiving.

Former cancer patient whose pioneering immunotherapy treatment rid his body of the disease urges others to never give up hope

Posted on by Danni Smith

David Bateson, from Bedfordshire, was diagnosed with melanoma in 2019. The father-of-three, from Ampthill, had an operation to remove the lesion, followed by a skin graft. The cancer returned the following year and David needed to have surgery to remove his lymph nodes from his neck, followed by radiotherapy. David was then put on a course of immunotherapy as a preventative measure, but it was on his birthday in 2021, two years later, that he received the news that his cancer had returned, it was Stage 4 and had spread to his liver, lungs and spine. 

“I just thought, it’s Stage 4 and it’s spread to all those organs. I’m done.” 

David’s consultant, Dr Pippa Corrie, a consultant medical oncologist at Addenbrooke’s, prescribed David a new course of immunotherapy treatment, combining two drugs to kick-start his immune system and after two years of the pioneering treatment, David was given the news in January of this year that there was no trace of cancer in his body. 

David said: “I went from believing I was going to die to being told there was no trace of cancer in my body and there was only a 2% chance of it returning. I just feel incredibly lucky and I appreciate life so much. I have a second go at this and it’s just amazing.” 

“The chances are I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for people at the hospital researching and developing new drugs to fight cancer.” 

Research is key at Addenbrooke’s and the wider Cambridge Biomedical Campus. With technical advances in genome sequencing, AI and immunotherapy, patients are experiencing new hope through personalised cancer treatments. This integrated approach will help fast track cancer innovations and will mean patients from not just across the region, but the whole country, can directly benefit from the latest innovations in cancer science.

David is now a member of the hospital’s Patient Advisory Group (PAG), a group of current and former patients using their lived experience to help design and shape the best care to meet everyone’s needs. 

Knowing how lucky he is to be here now, David has this message for other cancer patients. “Don’t ever give up hope. Someone, somewhere, is testing something that could help you. Don’t underestimate the power of medical science and what drugs can do for you.” 

Dr Pippa Corrie, Consultant Medical Oncologist

Dr Corrie, who specialises in melanoma and pancreaticobiliary cancers, said: “Immunotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors are really revolutionary in that before 10/15 years ago, people like David really had very little options in terms of treatment and unfortunately very poor outcomes. Now we can offer them effective immunotherapy which can potentially improve their life expectancy and actually cure some people and that’s really a major step change in how we manage patients with melanoma and now we are doing the same by using these drugs to treat other types of cancer as well.” 

David decided to start fundraising for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust as soon as he started his immunotherapy treatment, giving himself the goal of raising ÂŁ500 for further investment into this groundbreaking medical technology. He has since exceeded his goal, going on to raise a staggering ÂŁ50,000.  

David’s ÂŁ50,000 fundraising tally was reached with a charity football match and a silent raffle and auction. The football match saw Ampthill Town Football Club battle it out against Luton Town Football Club under 21s (which David’s son Jack plays for). Former England goalkeeper David James made a special appearance on the day. 

Earlier this year, Luton Town’s Mick Harford presented David with a giant cheque for £50,000, made out to ACT, at the City’s Premier League match against Fulham FC, which saw the club relegated after losing 4-2.  

“He’s a bit of a legend for someone my age. It was a hell of a surprise, such a lovely thing to do.” 

Describing what it was like to be told he had Stage 4 cancer that had spread to his major organs, David said: “I was just walking round punch-drunk, like I wasn’t really there.” 

The hardest thing was worrying about what would happen to his family – his wife, Lisa, a community nurse, and their children, George, 22; Jack, 19, and Grace, 17. 

“Having kids is the best feeling in the world. When they are born, the feeling you have is unbelievable. I didn’t want to not be there for them, I kept thinking about all the things I would miss. Things like walking Grace down the aisle.” 

But he said despite how he was feeling, his strategy was to try and ‘normalise’ cancer whenever he was at home. “I just tried to normalise it. That was my strategy. During the time I’ve had cancer, the kids have done their A levels, GCSEs, driving tests, got girlfriends, boyfriends, and I like to think that this cancer hasn’t completely ruined their young lives. And that’s a credit to me and Lisa. How we have set the tone and dealt with it.” 

Despite David’s amazing news in January, Lisa said the emotional scars are still there and said, even now, she finds herself reluctant to celebrate.  

“Even now, with David being told he only has a 2% chance of his cancer returning, I still feel scared to celebrate. We have had so many different celebrations where we have been given good news, I am more sceptical now. I think it’s just a way of protecting myself.” 

For David though – “this time feels different” – and having been given the good news back in January, he is keen to continue fundraising for the hospital.

“I really think in 20 years’ time we will be saying, ‘remember when cancer used to kill us.’ It is all about changing the story of cancer.” 

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, courtesy of NBBJ

To find out more about fundraising to support cancer services at Addenbrooke’s, please click here. 

Read more of David’s story and watch his story below.

John Addenbrooke Lecture inspires and drives meaningful changes in healthcare

Posted on by sarah.rastrick@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

This year’s John Addenbrooke Lecture provided an evening of insightful presentations, stimulating conversations, and the opportunity to be part of a community dedicated to making a difference.

The annual event saw an exceptional line up of speakers all of whom are leaders within their field:

Dr. Ken Poole, an esteemed Academic Consultant in Rheumatology and Metabolic Bone Disease, presented his latest findings that are transforming the approach to bone health and rheumatologic care. Professor Matthias Zilbauer, Clinical Professor of Paediatric Gastroenterology, shared his ground-breaking research and insights into children’s digestive health, and Sue Broster, Director of Innovation, Digital, and Improvement, discussed the innovative strategies and digital advancements driving improvement in healthcare delivery. 

Click below to watch a recording of the 2024 John Addenbrooke Lecture:

The lecture, which was held at Astra Zeneca’s imposing building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, was hailed a huge success by ACT’s Director of Communications and Impact, Paul White:

“We couldn’t have been prouder of ACT and its impact following the John Addenbrooke’s Lecture. For so many of our valued supporters to be there, listening to the extraordinary talks by some of the hospital’s leaders in research and innovation, really showcased what our charity – and our supporters – can, and do, achieve across Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie.”

He continued: “To hear three remarkable individuals, who between them are changing the way we treat life-limiting conditions such as osteoarthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, and driving forward innovation that will go on to save and change countless lives, talk of how grateful they are to ACT and its supporters, and how their work has only been possible because of the people in that room, was a moment to really be proud of – and one which will motivate us to do even more going forward.”

If you would like to make a change today, and donate to ACT to help fund ground-breaking research and equipment within our hospitals, please click here. To here more about ACT’s activities sign up at the foot of our homepage.

Congratulations! Two of our fundraisers nominated for this year’s prestigious Pride of Britain Awards

Posted on by Danni Smith

A HUGE thank you and congratulations to two of our fundraisers who featured in a TV special as nominees for this year’s prestigious Pride of Britain Awards.

David Bateson, pictured here with medical oncology consultant Dr Brent O’Carrigan, and Joyce Cripps, pictured with transplant surgeon Andrew Butler, being filmed in the background, have fundraised tirelessly for Addenbrooke’s through Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, whose supporters raise funds to help make the hospitals even better by funding cutting-edge research, innovations and high-tech equipment, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.

Both were shortlisted for ITV Anglia’s Regional Fundraiser of the Year and although they weren’t selected to go through to the finals of Pride of Britain Awards later this year, we are incredibly proud of both of them for all their hard work and for sharing their personal stories to a wider audience.

David Bateson – who has raised £50,000 for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust after being treated at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for cancer – shared his story on the ITV Anglia special.

The father of three, from Ampthill in Bedfordshire, was diagnosed with melanoma in 2019. David’s cancer returned twice but after surgery and treatment, followed by pioneering immunotherapy, David was given the news in January of this year that there was no trace of cancer left in his body.

Since his news, David has worked tirelessly to raise money for cancer services by fundraising for ACT and has raised a staggering ÂŁ50,000 which will go to melanoma research and the ÂŁ14 million public appeal to build the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus by 2029.

Explaining why he felt the need to continue fundraising for cancer research, David said: “The chances are I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for people researching and developing new drugs to fight cancer and I think the new cancer hospital planned for Cambridge is going to take that to another level.”

“For people going through cancer, my message would be, never give up hope. There is always hope and it is amazing what is being developed in terms of new cancer treatments.”

Joyce Cripps, our fundraiser from Bishop’s Stortford in East Hertfordshire, was nominated as regional fundraiser for Anglia East Region after spending over half her life fundraising for charities.

The retired carer and care manager, pictured here, started fundraising over 40 years ago after her daughter Julie’s primary school was damaged by fire. She went on to raise over £104,000 for various charities including Cancer Research, Marie Curie, The Willow Foundation which organizes special holidays for terminally ill patients and their families, local hospitals, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and The Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for children with cancer.

However, it was after her daughter Julie underwent a lifesaving liver transplant at Addenbrooke’s six years ago that Joyce pledged to dedicate all her fundraising to liver transplant research by raising money for ACT.

Joyce’s fundraising total for Addenbrooke’s transplant services is set to top £25K by the end of this year which she has raised through tribute nights which she books throughout the year, organizing raffle donations and making all the room and table decorations by hand herself.

As part of her nomination, Joyce was filmed with her husband, John, and daughter Julie visiting the transplant unit to meet Andrew Butler, the surgeon who performed Julie’s lifesaving transplant.

Some of Joyce’s money has already been used to refurbish two staff and patient rooms in the unit as well as fund a single use of the Liver Perfusion Machine, pictured above, which ACT supporters raised £250,000 to buy. As part of filming for the special, Joyce and her family got to see the machine – which mimics the body to ensure a liver’s functionality before transplant and allows surgeons to ‘test drive’ livers for suitability before transplanting them.

“As a family, words are not enough to express our gratitude to that wonderful team who saved Julie’s life. Realizing the difference my fundraising has made to other patients’ lives means this tireless work will continue to my days’ end!” Joyce said.

“I have agreed to ongoing monies raised be used for transplant research thus enabling many more lives being saved.  Had it not been for past research Julie’s story would have been very different.”

As well as David and Joyce, another one of our fundraisers featured on the ITV Anglia special. Pig farmer Nathan Lister, from Redgrave, drove the length of Britain in a bright pink Citroen Picasso – referred to as his ‘Pigasso’ after he transformed it into a fundraising pig, complete with snout, tail, ears and eye lashes.

Nathan was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at 22 and underwent 12 intense rounds of chemotherapy at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Now in remission, Nathan and his friends drove from John O’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall, raising more than ÂŁ12,000 for Addenbrooke’s Hospital through ACT and Cancer Research UK, who were interviewed on the show.

Congratulating David and Joyce, who were both nominated for their fundraising for ACT, our charity’s Chief Executive Shelly Thake said:

“We are extremely proud of all our fundraisers. Each and every one of them put in hours and hours of their own time to help make our hospitals even better. In David and Joyce’s case, both have worked tirelessly to raise funds that will go into research to benefit future patients.

“Both took it upon themselves to fundraise for our hospitals at what was a very stressful time in their life – David, when he was still undergoing immunotherapy treatment and Joyce, whilst her daughter was still recovering from a major, lifesaving operation. Not only that, but they continue to fundraise as well as share some of the more private and challenging moments of their life in order to help raise awareness and support others going through a difficult time themselves.”

“Whilst they didn’t get through to the Pride of Britain finals later this year, they did incredibly well to be nominated for ITV Anglia’s Regional Fundraiser of the Year. They should be incredibly proud of all the awareness and hard work they put into their fundraising so we would like to extend a huge congratulations to both of them and thank them for everything they do on behalf of ACT.”

2024 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival – ‘the biggest yet!’

Posted on by Danni Smith

The 2024 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival looks set to be the biggest race yet – with over 40 teams and 600 competitors taking part to raise funds for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.

This year’s 18th Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival takes place on the River Cam at Fen Ditton on Saturday 7th September with teams of 10-15 paddling 30ft boats up the river with a drummer at the front beating time and a helm at the tail.

Races start at 10am, with a prize ceremony at the end of the day. Festival sponsor Illumina will be taking part on the day and with bankside entertainment, food vans and an on-site bar the event is guaranteed to be a fun-packed, family day out.

Lucy Morton, Executive Director at NewWave Events, said: “We’re on track for this year’s Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival – which is being held in the Chinese Year of the Dragon – to be the biggest one yet with record team entries! We have 41 team entries and over half the firms competing this year have taken part in previous years.”

“It is amazing to see this event growing year on year and incredibly rewarding to see how the fundraising efforts from all teams makes a difference to such a worthy cause. Each year, the event brings a fantastic atmosphere to the city and the energy on the day is amazing.”

“The races are really exhilarating and extremely rewarding to be a part of. For the teams that are competing it is a chance for them to be part of the incredible atmosphere. For spectators, it is a fantastic family day out.”

Friendly rivalry is a big part of what the event is about, but Lucy said it is the unpredictable element that makes the day fun for both competitors and spectators.

“Some of the strongest crews can be knocked out in the heats if they aren’t working together to paddle down the course so it’s very common for novice crews to take home the winner’s trophy on the day as long as they have the determination and team spirit to carry them through!”

All funds raised will help boost ACT’s ÂŁ14 million public appeal to help build the new specialist cancer hospital, whose pioneering research is expected to have a far-reaching impact not just regionally, but nationally and globally too. The Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) will be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus by 2029 and bring together clinical and research expertise in a new, world-class hospital, designed in partnership with staff and patients. The new hospital will detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely, and save more lives.

Donna Lee-Willis, Head of Community Fundraising at Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, said: “We are so excited to be running this event again this year with our longstanding partners NewWave Events and this year’s sponsors, Illumina. Everyone who is there on the day – whether it be competitors or spectators – has a lot of fun and for us to be able to raise money for what is such a good cause makes everyone at ACT incredibly proud.”

Elaine Chapman, Lead Advisory Nurse for CCRH (pictured left), who is taking part herself as a member of the CCRH Project Team, said: “We are delighted this year’s Dragon Boat Festival is dedicating funds to the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital project. This hospital will bring together the very best clinical care and research expertise in a specialist building that has considered the wellbeing of patients and staff. Thank you for supporting us, you are helping to change the story of cancer.”

Mark Robinson, VP and GM, UK and Ireland, Illumina says, “Illumina is proud to support this year’s Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival to aid ACT. This unique event is just one of the ways that our team here in Cambridge is giving back to communities in which we live and work, while at the same time having a lot of fun!”

Each team completes three heats, with the 12 fastest teams going through to the semis. Three semi-final winners and the fastest runner-up go through to the final. Each boat seats up to 10 paddlers and 1 drummer. The racecourse is a 200m straight course with each race lasting anywhere between 55 and 90 seconds, with times affected by water flow and weather conditions.

Trophies are awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place as well as to the highest placed mixed crew (minimum of five female paddlers), best dressed crew and top charity fundraiser. Medals also go to the top three crews and the highest placed mixed crew.
The winner receives a bottle of bubbly, with the top charity fundraiser winning a punting experience courtesy of Let’s Go Punting.

Bankside entertainment and refreshments include traditional lion dance performances. There are also funfair style rides on the day, with sponsors Illumina hosting several fun activities including strawberry DNA extraction, dress like a scientist with a walk through Cambridge DNA history, a cake stand, face painting and flag making. Cambridge 105 is supporting the event, with live coverage and interviews, on the day.

Come along and support our teams on the day – and help boost our ÂŁ14 million appeal to see the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital built in the City by 2029.

For a taste of what to expect on the day, click on the video below.