Bristol Against Cancer

Let’s talk about the other ‘C’ word. Cancer has continued to affect the lives of thousands of people in Bristol.

Demand for the outstanding cancer services offered at our Bristol hospitals has continued to rise – putting additional pressure on hospital services and the staff working there. The NHS still needs you and so do we.

Above & Beyond raise funds for Bristol city centre hospitals to ensure staff have world-class facilities and the very best equipment for treating patients. This is why we’ve launched our Bristol Against Cancer campaign.

Together we can create more welcoming environments through refurbishing outdated wards and creating more peaceful spaces away from the clinical setting. We want to grow the leading expertise in the hospitals by funding pioneering research and clinical trials, and by supporting the development and training of the dedicated NHS staff. We need to deliver innovative practices for staff treating cancer patients. All to make cancer care in Bristol the best it can be.

This is Georgia’s story.

‘My name is Georgia Lewis and in February 2019, my mum died of stage four melanoma on Ward D603, at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre.

My mum was a proud midwife, who dedicated her career to patient-led care.

On the day my mum was admitted to acute oncology, with severe pain that meant that she couldn’t sit in a chair, there was a shortage of beds. After that, she shared a room and bathroom facilities with three people for her final seven days with us. Each of her roommates were in excruciating pain, required regular assistance from the wonderful nursing staff and had difficulty sleeping – not just because of the physical symptoms of their disease, but the emotional ones too.

The staff were exceptional but at this stage, when people are no longer relying on medicine, they need comfortable surroundings. And the ward just couldn’t offer that.

As a family, we had to have and process difficult conversations about the likelihood of my mum’s death within earshot of people we really didn’t know.

We all wish cancer didn’t have this much control over our lives, but one thing we can control is how we, as a society, react to it.

That’s why I’m determined to help others as much as I can through the difficult process that is dying.

I’ve started to do that through fundraising. Since I lost my mum, I’ve helped raise over £10,000 for charities close to our hearts, including Above & Beyond. If I can do that when I feel at my absolute worst, imagine what we could all do at our best.’

Above & Beyond supports all patients and services within University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. We make your donation go as far as possible by using it in the area of greatest need at your hospitals.

To find out how you can donate or fundraise visit www.aboveandbeyond.org.uk or scan the QR code.
Please help however you can.