NEWCASTLE PRETTY MUDDY
Stuck in the Mud!
The North East Gets 'Pretty Muddy' For Cancer Research
The annual Pretty Muddy Run, for Cancer Research, returned to Newcastle last Saturday.
By Beth Richardson
19/07/2019
One team who took part in the race are work colleagues Amy Wilson, 22, Megan Collins, 22, and Michelle Lisgo, 58.
The team members, who work at Boots the Chemist in Eldon Square, have all been affected by cancer in the family.
They ran in memory of Amy's late mother, Jane.
The Whitley Bay mother-of-two was 48 when she passed away last June, quickly and suddenly, after suffering a stroke caused by cancer.
In 2015, Jane, who worked as a manager in Greggs, was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she bravely fought and beat. However, more aggressive cancer in her stomach and oesophagus appeared in 2018, leaving Jane unable to eat, talk or walk.
Left with no choice, the doctors put her into palliative care and she passed away at home, shaking the family and the community.
Her daughter Amy said "mam's illness came out of the blue, it was a huge shock for everyone, it's still a huge shock"
"My mam was really well-loved in the local area, due to her fun-loving nature and kindness.
She built up a friendship with her customers in Greggs, where she was the store manager, and the company even provided food for her wake."
Hundreds of friends and loved-ones showed up to her funeral at Whitley Bay Crematorium, and were forced to stand outside during the ceremony, as the chapel did not have space.
Amy is "overwhelmed by the support" friends, family and strangers have given her and her family. She said that she wanted to take part in the Pretty Muddy to beat cancer, "once and for all".
The trio raised a total of £1,038.13 for Cancer Research UK, including Gift Aid.
Instagram Story @13bethr
As well as the run itself, instructors from Skinny Pigs, a women's fitness and toning class, were also around, conducting dance warm-ups to energise the eager fundraisers.
Groups from large organisations like the British Army, Tesco and the NHS, ran alongside families and individuals who had been affected by cancer.
Everyone was also reminded of the serious nature of the run. Moving audio of cancer patients and their families played before the start of every race,
This comes as Cancer Research U.K launches a new, nationwide advertising campaign to raise awareness of preventable causes of cancer; smoking and obesity.
A wave of pink swept across Newcastle, as 2,800 charitable Geordies descended upon Exhibition Park for the Pretty Muddy run.
The annual 5k, in aid of Cancer Research U.K, involves participants getting - as predicted- 'pretty muddy'.
Participants endured obstacles like tunnels slicked with dirt, nets and a mud-slide to finish.
And, despite the wet and windy weather, £92,000 was raised to fund research and treatments in the North East.
1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime, and 1 in 3 people will die of cancer
The North-East is leading the way in the fight against cancer.
The Freeman Hospital is home to the researchers at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR), which was founded in 2001.
The institute researches children's cancer, adult cancer, clinical trials and drug discoveries.
Over 200 clinicians and scientists work alongside Newcastle University, Cancer Research UK, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and UK Children’s Cancer & Leukaemia Group to find new ways of beating and curing cancers.
Dr Alistair Greystoke, a consultant of medical oncology and senior lecturer at Newcastle University, spoke about cancer and the research in Newcastle.
Dr Greystoke, who specialises in early drug development in the treatment of lung cancer, said that cancer is becoming a "bigger problem" and estimates that "1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime and 1 in 3 people will die of cancer".
"We do have high rates [of lung cancer] in the North East of England, compared to other parts of the U.K." Dr Greystoke states. That is in part due to the North-East's high smoking demographics, and also as a result of "previous industrial exposure" from the coal mines and chemicals like asbestos.
Treatments for lung cancer have rapidly changed over the past five years. Dr Greystoke attributes new developments in immunotherapy, which was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in medicine, as "revolutionising the treatment of cancer"
The therapy uses the immune system to fight cancer by "blocking the [cancer's] invisibility cloak" exposing cancer to the immune system and allowing it to attack cancer cells.
On the fundraising efforts of Amy, Jane's Angels and the Pretty Muddy, Dr Greystoke said "we couldn't do what we do without the funding from cancer research"
"It funds the laboratory work, to identify genes that are abnormal, it helps develop the medications and it runs units like the Sir Bobby Robson unit, where we can treat patients in clinical trials".
Lung cancer screenings are set to pilot in Newcastle and Gateshead by the end of 2019, in another effort by the NICR to combat cancer in the North East.
To donate to Cancer Research U.K. visit their website.
Edit: Since publishing this article, and video, the donations to "Jane's Angels" has increased to £1,123.88.
Cancer Research U.K. tweeted out a video of the Pretty Muddy warm-up, led by the local Skinny Pigs instructor.
Students from George Stephenson High School, Killingworth, covered from head to toe in mud, as shown on the High School's Twitter account.
Staff from Newcastle Hospitals' Ward 21, which specialises in heart and lung care, also braved the rain and got muddy for Cancer Research, and their images were shared by twitter user Elaine Prosperini.
And, Cancer Research Newcastle shared a video of their researchers from Newcastle University's Northern Institute for Cancer Research ready to take part in the days' events.