My beautiful wife Deb was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 bowel cancer during lockdown in May 2020. Being told there was nothing that could be done surgically chemo was our only option & even with that she only had 18-24 months, without it only 6. Devastated was not the word. With two young kids 7 & 5 at the time & a global pandemic meaning diagnosis & treatment on her own without anyone to hold her hand, give her a hug, it couldn’t really have been worse.

A year later the chemo worked wonders & the multidisciplinary team across Warrington, Halton, Liverpool & Clatterbridge decided to reconsider surgery & in April 2021 Deb underwent surgery to remove the primary bowel tumour, pancreas tumour, her spleen & a full hysterectomy. In June 2021 she underwent her first lung ablation to remove 2 tumours on her right lung, following which she just never seemed to recover & the pain continued to get worse. 

In September 2021 we found out the cancer had spread to the bones… ribcage, pelvis & spine & then following a collapse at home in November 2021, the worst news yet - it has also spread to the brain. Even at that stage Debs was resolute & she started 5 sessions of whole brain radiotherapy on 15th December. 

On 17th December Deb was taken ill at home & taken to Warrington General by ambulance. Having developed a clot on her lung there was nothing the medical team could do & she died in my arms at 6.56am on Saturday 18th December. Our lives will never be the same again, we miss her so much. 

St.Rocco's provided amazing support, complementary therapy and counselling to Debs during her time there. Had we got that far they were also going to provide end of life care for Debs and support for us all. They continue to support me with bereavement counselling, and I am so grateful for their continued support. 

Debs LOVED Strictly, so when I was asked if I would be a competitor for this years Strictly St.Roccos (despite being a truly awful dad dancer!!) I said yes. Deb always said we should try dance classes. So I'm doing it for her. Should give her a good laugh up there either way.

So please spare whatever you can to help this amazing place.

Many thanks and much appreciated,

Russ x