In October 2024 we were saddened to hear that regular listener and friend to the podcast James Allen had passed away at the age of 37 after a brave battle with Bowel Cancer.

Teesside Hospice provided James and his family with excellent pallative care. We wanted to support Teesside Hospice by raising some much needed funds to continue helping enrich the lives of those with Cancer in Teesside.

So Planty and John, joined by James' sister Jen are getting their hiking boots on to do a 25 mile walk around the Ullswater Way and The Dalemain Loop on Saturday May 3rd 2025.

We'll let James tell you his story in his own words from an interview in 2024.

"My name is James Steven Allen and I'm from Skelton in Cleveland. My condition started with just a pain in my side, which resulted in having part of my bowel removed and being put on chemotherapy for a year. However, when I had a little bit more removed a year later it was discovered that my cancer had spread to my liver, and that's when they gave me the terminal diagnosis, back in June 2023.

I was referred to the palliative care team, where they suggested a number of local charities, one of which was Teesside Hospice. I came for a walk around visit and it was at that point that they suggested it might be useful for me to go to the men's wellbeing group on a Tuesday. That's what really opened me up to the hospice. It was good to be able to come out for a couple of hours a day to get out of the house and meet people by sharing problems that would not necessarily be as easy to talk about at home. That support and social interaction really benefitted me."

James was one of 3,000 local people that Teesside Hospice support each year across all services. Without public support they wouldn't be able to offer the much needed care patients like James deserve.

They don't just care for symptoms but for the person and will do everything to improve quality of life and wellbeing.

Please help us by giving anything you can to help us reach our £300 goal!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.