Team Abbeydale run the Sheffield 10K

Award winning Abbeydale Brewery are further strengthening their links with the local community by selecting Cavendish Cancer Care as their first official charity partner. As part of this commitment, they have been inspired to put down their pint pots and pick up their running shoes and take on the challenge of the Sheffield 10K on Sunday 23^rd September. A team of 11 drawn from all areas of the brewery operation have been out pounding the pavements training hard in order to make a difference to local families affected by cancer. If you love a pint of Moonshine and feel you could spare the price of a pint for the Abbeydale team you can sponsor them online at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Abbeydalebrewery

Abbeydale have supported Cavendish for a number of years after hearing about the charity and understanding the difference they could make by supporting a local organisation that was in their immediate community. Their links have been further strengthened when Carly Honeycombe came on board the Abbeydale team as their Events Manager. Carly has first-hand experience of the difference Cavendish services make to cancer patients.

Carly was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged 26; she came to the Cavendish for sessions of reflexology and healing between having treatment and working.

“I was diagnosed in April 2015, I’d found a lump on my collarbone so I had a few tests and they told me I’d get the results in two to three weeks. I’d convinced myself it couldn’t be anything serious because I’d had a cold so I thought it was just a swollen gland, and I thought if it was serious they wouldn’t leave it two weeks.

“I got the appointment to see the doctor, I didn’t realise anything about his demeanour at the time but looking back I think I can tell it wasn’t right. I was sat with the doctor and my mum, he told me my results had come back and it was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My first reaction was ok; well do I have antibiotics for that? My mum burst into tears and at that point I looked at her, then the doctor and realised maybe it wasn’t as ok as I thought.  

“It didn’t feel real, it’s almost like it happened to me but it doesn’t feel like it happened to me, almost as if I was watching it.”

“It was a bit of a whirlwind, I’m normally one who likes to be prepared and organised but I didn’t google a single thing. I remember people asking me questions but I hadn’t read the information so I’d tell them to look it up and if it’s not bad tell me but if it is bad then don’t. I never read any information on chemo because I thought if it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t then it doesn’t need worrying about.

“I already knew of the Cavendish Cancer Care because one of the therapists, Janet, had been a family friend since I was eight years old. We’d been involved and fundraised for them before and I’d also benefitted from Janet’s support before when I was younger, so I came to the Cavendish pretty much straight away when my treatment started.

“I had around six months of chemotherapy followed by three weeks of radiotherapy. My sessions at Cavendish were all about me and keeping my body as healthy as possible through this process. You typically think of someone going through chemo as really sick and nauseous but I only got that towards the end of my treatment. The chemo would shake me up and make me feel a bit woozy but because I interspersed it with my sessions at Cavendish I could physically still do things and it helped keep my energy levels up.

“There were times when I’d have chemotherapy on the Thursday and be at work on the Friday. I felt a bit queasy but I thought it was better for me to concentrate on something. I used to book my Cavendish sessions in the middle of the day on Wednesday so I could take a break from work, it was just a great feeling  to know it would be ok because I’d be going to Cavendish and having a bit of me time to refresh and replenish.

“I’d say making the choice to come to Cavendish and continue working were the best things I ever did, they helped me get through it. Coming to Cavendish was so calming and relaxing; it was never an event or made a big deal of.”

Cavendish Cancer Care is a safe space, calming and welcoming, everything is explained so well and dealt with in a great manner so that it’s not scary or foreign.

“Sessions at Cavendish helped me clear my head; although I didn’t feel like I needed counselling I knew that it was available to me or my family and friends. I have a very open relationship with my family and friends and we all have a bit of a dark sense of humour, I sometimes think I was a bit too cavalier with some people in terms of humour and my attitude towards it but I got through it the way I got through it.

“The problem is Cavendish Cancer Care is a charity and that relies on the generosity of local people to keep their doors open and I can see people’s lives being dramatically affected if Cavendish wasn’t here. Especially those that have a long term illness or in a horrible situation where it happens and happens again, I don’t know how they’d cope without somewhere like Cavendish to provide support to them and their family.

“I don’t think people realise how valuable Cavendish is. I wasn’t picking between Cavendish and somewhere else to go for respite and rejuvenation, it’s invaluable because there’s nothing else like it.”

“I had only been working at Abbeydale for a couple of months when I started floating the idea around that we should do something for Cavendish. I didn’t know everyone particularly well and they didn’t know my history so it is true testament to their character that people were quickly on board. We’re now up to 10 runners and people are always welcome to join us I know we can still enrol to run with us and Cavendish. The training has been incredibly tough… We work in brewery for goodness sake, beer is all around us!

“Cavendish Cancer Care doesn’t get major press coverage and there are so many charities out there. I’m a big believer that Abbeydale Brewery and the two pubs should each have a charity for the year to support and Cavendish is a perfect fit for us. People just need to be more aware of it, I was lucky that I already was when I got my cancer. It’s something that makes me want to give back, and say thank you for being there for me and being there for other people.”

If you want to sponsor the Carly and the Abbeydale Brewery running team you can at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Abbeydalebrewery or if you have the running bug and want to get involved go to cavcare.tempurl.host